Have Hope
by DPIH
Summary: The team is thrown into disarray when they discover Lilly's house has been broken into, Lilly missing and her kitchen covered in blood. Set sometime in final series. This will be rated T. Please R and R
1. Something's happening here

A/n: The team is thrown into disarray when they discover Lilly's house has been broken into, Lilly missing and her kitchen covered in blood. Set sometime in final series. This will be rated T don't want to say too much right now. Please leave a review after the chapter so I know whether or not people actually like where this story is going.

Chapter one: Something's happening here

Lilly carried the evidence box down the hall, back down to evidence storage. She liked being down here, it was quiet, peaceful and she came down here a lot to think. Until she started working cold jobs she never really realised just how many unsolved cases where down in the evidence storage at Philadelphia police department central division. Now every time she came down here, those hundreds of unsolved murder cases seemed to cry out to her, begging for her help.

Lilly ran a hand over her tired eyes, replacing the box back in the stacks, writing closed on the lid. She was exhausted, it had taken her and Scotty over an hour to get the doer to confess and she just wanted to go home and fall into bed. She looked down at her watch, it was 9:45 on a Friday night, and she'd been at work for over twelve hours, without sleep and without much to eat either.

Sighing she took one last look around her at the boxes still waiting for someone to write closed on them and then made her way up the metal staircase, back to the bullpen.

Scotty and the others were waiting for Lilly to come back up from the basement, Scotty had noticed over the last few weeks she was not getting much sleep, comming into work half asleep. He wanted to cheer her up so when he'd volunteered to shout everyone a drink, they'd all agreed to wait a little longer for Lilly to come back up, hoping to convince her to come as well.

Lilly re-entered the squad room, more than a little surprised that the others were still there. "Thought you would of all gone home by now" Lilly said.

"Nah, we were waitin for you Lil" Scotty said as he loosened his tie "Thought we'd go for a drink" Lilly looked around at her colleagues, she was so tired, lately she hadn't been sleeping much, but she didn't want to disappoint them.

"One drink" she stated and they grinned, picking up their coats and heading for the door. The snow was just starting to fall and Lilly shivered, pulling her coat around her tightly. Scotty moved closer to her and smiled "you okay Lil?" he asked her concernedly

Lilly saw the compassion and sincerity radiating from his soulful brown eyes and she sighed "Yeah I am fine Scotty" she replied smiling back at her partner.

They were at Jones' within minutes, and Jones grinned broadly as his regulars walked up to the bar.

"Hey guys, was wondering if I was gonna see my favourite customers tonight" he said. One of the patrons at the bar looked up at him, giving the bartender a look of contempt before returning his attention to the beer he was nursing. Scotty ordered the first round as they made their way over to a booth. Scotty came back, sliding in next to Lilly and passing out the drinks. "To another case closed" Scotty said raising a glass, the others followed suit, clinking their glasses together. They drank deeply before they started to discuss their recent case, Scotty removed his tie entirely and pulled out a cigar, handing one to Nick and Will. "Hey dart boards free" Vera said standing up and walking up to the bar to collect the darts.

"Come on Will, one of us has to kick his ass" Scotty said cockily as he walked over to the dart board. Will laughed and followed his younger colleague to the back of the bar.

* * *

An hour later and Lilly was barely able to keep her eyes open and she stood up "You ain't leaving are you Lil?" Kat asked as she saw Lilly standing up.

"Yeah I am really tired" she admitted, smiling wearily down at her friend.

"Come on Lil" Kat pleaded "You can't leave me alone with them" she pointed over her shoulder at the boy, they were still playing darts, Scotty and Nick were insulting each other as usual as Will watched on, rolling his eyes occasionally. Lilly chuckled and sank back down into the booth "I suppose I can stay a little longer" and Kat grinned, refilling Lilly's glass and her own "So how are you and Curtis going?" Lilly asked as she picked up her beer and took a sip, thoroughly enjoying her friend's sudden discomfort.

"How did you know about us?" Kat asked in alarm, looking around to make sure that the others were out of ear shot.

Lilly chuckled at the panic in her Kat's voice "Scotty told me" Lilly replied teasingly. Kat rolled her eyes and shot a glare over her shoulder at Scotty "That man is a gossip" she snapped and Lilly grinned again.

"So, how are you two?"

"It's going okay...I think. Veronica likes him so I guess that's a plus" Kat raised her beer to her lips "What about you Lil? You seein anyone?"

Lilly snorted with laughter "You kidding, I am a self confessed workaholic, when would I find the time to date anyone?"

Kat merely shrugged "You looked pretty cosy with that Succardo guy, he was fine" Lilly rolled her eyes again "Yeah well Eddie's ancient history, story of my life" Lilly added bitterly as she remembered how that relationship had ended

"Evenin' ladies" Scotty said as he came over to refill his glass "What are you talkin' 'bout?" he asked sitting beside Kat. "Nothing that concerns you blabbermouth" Kat said and Lilly giggled at the wounded air that Scotty put on. She stood up and picked up her purse "You goin Lil?" Scotty asked as she slid out of the booth.

"Yes, I am really tired"

"See you tomorrow then" Scotty said

"Night guys" Lilly replied and she waved across to Nick and Will before heading out the door. She pulled her coat around her; sliding on her gloves she hailed a cab. Lilly gave her address to the driver and sank back against the seat, sighing with exhaustion, running a hand over her eyes again.

"Long day Detective?" the driver asked, looking back at her in the rear view mirror.

Lilly's eyes shot up to the mirror, looking him in his eyes refection. "How did you know I was a cop?" Lilly asked

"The badge" he replied evenly, nodding and giving her a smile

"Oh, right" Lilly said looking down at the shield hanging out of her trousers "Yeah long day"

"Must be tough for a woman? Specially one as beautiful as you" Lilly shifted uncomfortably in the back seat, this guy was creeping her out and she was relieved when he pulled up outside her house a few minutes later "Thanks" she said hurriedly and she threw some cash on the front seat.

She watched as the cab driver pulled away from the curb and she turned and walked up the stairs, pausing to get her mail before heading inside. She was immediately greeted by Tripod and Olivia who wrapped their way around her legs, mewing pitifully.

"Okay, okay I know" Lilly replied and she walked into the kitchen to feed them. She moved back towards the living room and collapsed on the couch, closing her eyes. Maybe I should just sleep here, she thought.

A soft knock on the door made her groan in frustration, who could this possibly be. Lilly walked over to the door and opened it.

'"Hey sleepy" Scotty said as he stepped closer to her, grinning at her with his usual cocky grin.

"Scotty, what are you doing here?" she asked exasperatedly

"What do you think?" he said softly, his hands falling to her waist. Lilly sighed, running her hands down his arms till her reached his hands "Scotty I am really tired" she wined

"I'll help you get to sleep" he whispered softly, as his hands began to stroke her skin under her blouse. Lilly giggled "You're the reason I haven't been sleeping lately mister" she said, pulling his hands away from her hips and immediately missing the contact.

"I am sure I can get you to fall asleep if you let me in" Scotty lowered his head to hers and kissed her lightly, moving his hand to tangle in her hair. The minute his lips met her she felt her inhabitations slipping away, just as they always did when he kissed her. Groaning, she stared to walk backwards, dragging him back into the house with her and closing the door behind them.

Scotty wasn't even exactly sure how it started, they'd always been close, but over the last year their relationship had changed. From a gentle touch on her shoulder when she'd thanked him for supporting her during testifying against Kitchener, to a hug after one particular case that hit way to close to home for her, to a soft kiss on her cheek when he dropped her of one night and then one night, And then one night, a kiss on her lips. That had lead to much more intimate things, it had been six months since they had taken their relationship to the next level, both of them agreeing that it was best to keep the fact they were sleeping together a secret, knowing they were both on very thin ice with the brass after past indiscretions.

Lilly awoke the next morning, to a kiss in her cheek and she smiled warmly, rolling over and draping her arms around him. "Sleep well?" he asked teasingly

"Not really, someone kept me awake last night" she replied and he chuckled, he encircled her with his arms, hugging her close to his body "Well is it my fault you're so hot" he whispered into the top of her head as he kissed her lightly. Lilly giggled and slapped his bare chest lightly "At least it's the weekend and we have all day to sleep" she muttered, closing her eyes again, breathing in his scent and listening to the steady rhythm of his heart.

"I hope if we are spendin all day in bed we won't be just sleepin" Scotty countered cheekily, earning himself another slap, Lilly giggled and looked up into his eyes "You are such a idiot, you know that" she said affectionately.

"But you love it" Scotty replied, wriggling his eyebrows at her. Lilly laughed again and raised her head to kiss him firmly on his lips. Scotty weaved his hand through her blonde hair, pulling her tight against him. After a few minutes she pulled away "You're good at that Valens" Lilly whispered, brushing her thumb over his lip.

"Oh I have much more talents in that department Rush" He whispered suggestively. Lilly fixed her boyfriend with a teasing smile and replied cheekily "Don't over sell it Valens".

Scotty growled and rolled her over, he pressed his lower body against her hips "Do you need me to show you what I can do Rush, cause I pretty sure last night you had no complaints" he pressed his lips to her neck and Lilly's eyes fluttered closed, breathing in deeply as his tongue trailed against her pulse point. She bit her lips to stifle a moan that threatened to escape, he was doing all the things that drove her wild but she wasn't about to inflate his already overly large ego.

"Is that the best you can do Scotty" Lilly muttered, in replied Scotty gently bit down on her earlobe and relished the way she shivered below him. Chuckling, Scotty began to move down her neck to her collarbone

"I know what makes you tick Rush" he whispered, Lilly treaded her fingers through his hair as he raised her shirt and made his way down her stomach. "So maybe you do know what you're doing" Lilly said breathlessly and she allowed herself to succumb to his advances.

Lilly and Scotty were in the kitchen that afternoon, her clad only in his dress shirt and him wearing nothing but a pair of boxer briefs. Lilly was happily humming to herself as she stirred the tomato soup that was simmering on the stove. She had never been a good cook but slowly Scotty was showing her some of his never fail recipes. His mother risotto, Blueberry pancakes, chocolate cake and many more wonderfully delicious meals and, after all their time together, Lilly didn't actually feel afraid to cook anymore. Though given the choice, Lilly would much rather watch Scotty cook.

She turned away from the stove for a few minutes, watching Scotty chopping up vegetables, she sighed contentedly and cross the short distance between them, draping her arms around his neck and pressing a kiss to his shoulder blade.

"What was that for?" he asked in amusement, turning his head slightly to look at his girlfriend. The smile she had on her face was so heart warming, so gorgeous and he love to see if aimed in his direction, which happened on a regular basis lately. Scotty smiled back at her, he couldn't believe it had taken him over six years to realise what a truly amazing and gorgeous woman she was and his heart warmed.

"I am just happy" she replied happily "For the first time in ages I am actually happy" Lilly trailed her fingers over his bare shoulders, taking in the few freckles that marked his chiselled frame.

"Me too" Scotty countered simply, lowering his head for a quick kiss.


	2. This can't be happening

Chapter 2: This can't be happening.

Sunday dawned and announced another freezing cold day in Philadelphia. The snow was falling quietly outside the window and it seemed like the perfect day to spend curled up in bed.

Scotty was propped up against the headboard, reading the newspaper and absently stroking Lilly's arm who had her head pillowed against his chest, as she played with Olivia and Tripod. Lilly sighed contentedly and turned her head to look up at him. "Are we gonna stay here all day?" Lilly asked. He looked down at her and smiled "I wasn't planin' on leavin'" Scotty replied "So much we can do here" he added with a wriggle of his eyebrows.

Lilly chuckled and raised her head off his chest. She leant over the side of the bed to retrieve Scotty's t-shirt, taking a few seconds to breathe in the familiar scent. "What you doin'?" Scotty asked curiously as he lowered the newspaper.

"I am just cold" Lilly replied as she slid the shirt over her head; Scotty grinned devilishly and grabbed her arm, pulling her towards him. Lilly squeaked in surprise as her body collided with his and blushed as she saw the desire in his eyes and his hands began to roam over her body. "Well I better warm you up then" he said seductively, tossing the newspaper to the floor.

Lilly wrapped her arms around his neck as he pushed her back against the pillows and chuckled at the look on his face as he lowered his body down on top of her, capturing her lips with his. His hands slid up and under the materiel of his t-shirt and caressed the underside of her bare breast, he heard her breath catch in her throat and tighten her grip around him.

Scotty's phone rang, breaking their ever deepening kiss "Damm it" Scotty muttered, the last thing he wanted now was to be called into work. He reached over to the bedside table and grabbed his cell phone to check the caller id "Its Mike" Scotty said a frown spreading across his face.

"You don't have to answer it you know" Lilly whispered "You could let it go to voicemail" Lilly pressed a kiss to the side of his neck and he groaned softly. "He'll call back if it's important" Scotty replied and he tossed the phone back onto the table, were it vibrated incessantly against the lamp for a few more minutes before it finally stopped. He returned his attention back to Lilly's porcelain skin, kissing his way down her neck.

* * *

Hours later, Lilly awoke and found Scotty still sound asleep and snoring loudly, she chuckled at the way his lips were curled in a slight smile and how his gorgeous, thick, raven hair stuck up at odd angles from when she had run her fingers through it. Lilly suddenly realised she was hungry and carefully slid out of bed and crept across the room to retrieve her underwear. Grabbing the t-shirt off the post of the bed, Lilly slipped out of the room. Heading down to the kitchen Lilly decided that she would cook him...well it was way past breakfast, but lunch in bed was still no less romantic. She started to pull out the ingredients for Scotty's favourite, chocolate chip pancakes. Olivia hopped up onto the kitchen bench and watched her owner cracking eggs into a bowl "Lunch of champions" She said stirring the batter and turning on the stove on.

The smell of freshly cooked pancakes wafted through the room and Scotty was wakened from his deep sleep. His eyes fluttered open and he spotted Lilly standing over him, holding a tray of pancakes in her hands "What smells so good?" Scotty asked as he sat up, Lilly placed the tray over his legs and sat down beside him "Pancakes" she said happily. He leant forward and kissed the space between her neck and shoulder, breathing in the scent of her skin "No it's you" he replied and Lilly giggled handing him a fork "Better eat it before it gets cold" she encouraged. Scotty shook his head and held out the fork to Lilly "Chef takes first bite" he said.

"You just wanna make sure it doesn't taste like crap before you try it" she countered as she dug it into the soft stack of pancakes on the plate. She raised it to her lips and swallowed "Yum" she said diving in for a second bite.

"Hey don't eat it all" Scotty whined, Lilly rolled her eyes and fed him the next fork full, delighted as he moaned happily. "You were right these are good" Scotty said "I taught you well" he added cockily and Lilly rolled her eyes again. "Shut up and eat you lunch" Lilly replied and he chuckled.

* * *

Monday morning came around way too fast and Lilly followed Scotty downstairs at five as she always did on a weekday, Scotty had to get home in time to change and head off to work. "This sucks" Lilly muttered as she gripped at Scotty's thick over coat and played absently with the buttons.

"I know baby, but we both agreed to keep this on the down low" Scotty reminded her as he placed his arms around her, hugging her tightly.

"I know, but it still sucks" Lilly leant her forehead against his chest and breathed in the smell of his skin "Now I have to spend all day trying to keep my hands off you"

"You think it's any easier for me?" he asked softly as he gently lifted her head off his chest and ran his thumb over her cheek. He lowered his head to kiss her lips and she tugged him closer to her body, wrapping her arms around his waist. He broke away and sighed "I'll see you at work?"

Lilly nodded and he pressed another kiss to her forehead, Lilly allowed him to slip out of her grip and

She watched him walk out the front door and sighed; she hated having to watch him go every morning, having to pretend all day that he wasn't anything more than a friend and a partner to her, pretending that she didn't want to drag him into a world stopping kiss every time he looked at her. She slumped off upstairs to take a shower, wishing she could take Scotty with her.

"Morning Lil" Kat said as Lilly walked into the department and placed her bag on her desk.

"Morning" Lilly replied, shivering slightly "Its freezing out there this morning and it's really cold in here" Lilly walked over to the thermostat and fiddled with the knobs.

"I wouldn't waste your time Lil, heating is out, Boss said it may be a few hours till they get it fixed" Lilly rolled her eyes and returned to her desk. Good old Philly PD and its crappy resources she thought to herself as she tightened her coat around her.

"Why is it so freakin cold in here?" Scotty grumbled as he entered the department, clutching a large cup of coffee.

"Heats out" Lilly replied and she heard Scotty swearing under his breath and walk towards the breakroom. She chuckled at how grouchy her boyfriend was this morning, when Scotty was pissed off, no one could make him feel better, well she could but what she normally did to cheer him up probably wouldn't be appropriate office behaviour , so she decided against it, she'd make it up to him later.

The morning wore on and it only seemed to get even colder, Stillman ordered up some temporary heaters and when they arrived everybody suddenly needed to work right underneath them. Most of the day was spent catching up on paperwork from the previous day and Lilly was starting to go a little stir-crazy being cooped up in the department with no new cases coming in. She was so close to just going downstairs and randomly selecting a cold job just so she'd have something to do.

"I am gonna go get some lunch" Lilly announced after a few more minutes of silence.

"I'll come with you Lil, I am starvin'" Scotty announced happily. Lilly nodded and grabbed her coat, turning to see if the others wanted to come, but they were all happy to sit under the heat rather than freeze outside, so Lilly and Scotty headed off alone.

As soon as the elevator doors slid closed he reached for her and pulled her into his arms, she was shocked at first, cause normally he didn't do anything while they were at work. Scotty kissed her lightly and rested his forehead against hers.

"What are you doing?" Lilly asked curiously

"Just tryin' to get warm" Scotty replied, grinning roguishly and he slid his arms under her coat and pulled her tighter against him.

"Your gonna get us caught" Lilly whispered as she fiddled with the collar of his coat. Scotty merely grinned. She smiled up at him, her hands wrapping around his tie and pulled him into another kiss "You're wearing that shirt I like" Lilly murmured against his lips her hands running over the deep blue shirt.

"Oh yeah?"

"Uh-huh, makes you look really...sexy" she whispered

"Well I might need you to give me a hand takin' it off later" he said, good god if they weren't at work right now, the way she was looking at him made him wish they had the time to run home for 'lunch'. He quickly pressed another kiss to her lips released her just as the doors open on to the lobby and they walked out into the freshly falling snow.

"I was thinkin' Geno's?" Scotty suggested as they started to walk across the courtyard.

"Cheese steak for a change" said teasingly at his predictability and Scotty chuckled.

"I promise I won't cover it in Cheese whiz" Lilly laughed.

After grabbing their cheese steaks, they decided to take the scenic route along the river. Scotty warped his free arm around her shoulders and she leaned into him. "So are you coming over tonight?" Lilly asked hopefully

"I was thinkin' I might, I have a surprise for you" he announced

Lilly raised an eyebrow and looked up at him "What kind of surprise?" she asked

"I ain't tellin you, that's why they call it a surprise Rush"

Lilly tried to interrogate him the whole way back, until Scotty pulled her into his arms and kissed her to shut her up. When he broke away, she remained speechless and he chuckled "I should try that technique more often" he said happily and Lilly playfully punched him on the arm as they walked back towards the department.

Lilly left just before seven that evening and Scotty watched her go, smiling at her as she stepped into the elevator. Taking out his cell he sent her a text.

See you at eight.

Lilly arrived home and walked up the stairs, checking her mail before she opened the door, nothing but bills...as usual. She opened her front door and slipped out of her coat, tossing the mail on the table by the coat rack. She looked at the clock on the mantelpiece; it was 7:50, so she had plenty of time to change into something a bit more comfortable before Scotty showed up. A pathetic mewing reached her ears and she smiled, but first she'd have to feed the cats. So Lilly walked into the kitchen.

Scotty left work a few minutes after Lilly and drove straight home, he had a few things he needed to pick up before he went over to her place. This time he was bringing with him a change of clothes, he had been thinking lately that he wanted to ask Lilly if he could keep a few changes of clothes at her place, and she could keep clothes at his place. He knew she hated him leaving so early every morning so he'd have plenty of time to get ready for work. He just hoped she wouldn't flip out on him like she had when he suggested they go out to eat one night.

After grabbing a couple of things from his kitchen for dinner, he had a quick shower and picked out something to wear that night. He wanted to stack the odds in his favour, so he selected a black long sleeved shirt with white pinstripes. He knew she loved this shirt, when he wore it to work a few months ago he could feel her looking at him surreptitiously all day. He chuckled as he caught sight of his reflection, after one final tug on his shirt collar; he grabbed his coat, overnight bag and the bag of groceries off the table before heading out the door.

After making one quick stop at the florist near Lilly's apartment and getting her a bunch of roses, he hurried over to her place. As he pulled up he realised he was ten minutes late "Crap" he muttered and he stepped out of the car and grabbed the grocery bag and the flowers, deciding he'd brooch the subject of leaving clothes at her place after a few glasses of wine.

As he walked up the stairs he noticed the front door was ajar, that wasn't like Lilly at all. She always kept the door lock, even when she was down stairs in the living room. "Lil?" he called into the darkness, no response, he tried again "Baby, you left your door open". Maybe she was in the shower he thought so he shut the door, placed the bag and flowers on the coffee table and walked up the stairs to her bedroom. He couldn't hear the sound of running water and he saw no sign of her in her bedroom.

Now he was staring to get worried, Lilly wouldn't just leave without calling him. He whipped out his cell phone and dialled her number, voicemail. The only other place she could be would be in her backyard. So Scotty hurried downstairs and walked into the kitchen.

His blood ran cold as he saw the state of her kitchen, her small table was overturned, blood coating the walls and floor and her favourite scarf was ripped and sitting in a particularly large pool of blood by the fridge. "Oh my god" he breathed "Lil!" he yelled and he stepped over the mess and walked over to the back door, it had been forced open and the handle was coated in fresh blood as well. He felt sick, something was very wrong here. He pulled out his cell phone again and dialled Stillman's number.


	3. Cold reality

Chapter 3: Cold reality

John Stillman got the worse call of his life, Scotty seemed so panicked, so scared, he barely understood what he had said. All he heard that there was something wrong at Lilly's place. He didn't need more than that and he hurried out of his house and sped over to her apartment.

The red and blue lights flashed, lighting up the street. Neighbours peeped out at houses, curious about the commotion going on in their normally quiet street. Stillman flashed his badge and the young officer on the tapeline nodded and raised it enough for him to duck under. He hurried up the steps and into her house. Scotty was seated on her couch, a uniformed officer trying to get information from him. "I already told you what happened" Scotty snapped in frustration. The officer looked up and seemed relieved to spot Lieutenant Stillman. Scotty got to his feet and John could see the fear in his youngest detective's eyes "What happened Scotty?" Stillman asked softly

"I came over, we were gonna have dinner, hang out...I came in to her place, her door was unlock, I looked everywhere and couldn't find her so I tried callin' her" Scotty ran a hand through his hair and leant back against the wall "She didn't answer so I checked the kitchen and saw..." he stopped and swallowed hard, trying to stop the tears that were threatening to fall "So much blood Boss" Scotty felt sick and he slumped down against the stairs

Stillman's breath caught in his throat and placed a hand on Scotty's shoulder. He steeled himself before heading for the kitchen. He felt sick at what he saw; blood coated almost every flat surface, handprints on the fridge, likewise covered in blood. Footprints that lead away to the back door and the scarf that Lilly had been wearing that day on the floor. Stillman, felt the bile rising in his throat, in his thirty odd years of being a detective he'd never seem something that hit this close to home, Lilly was like his daughter and now it appeared something very wrong had happened here.

Crime scene techs everywhere, taking numerous pictures, samples of the pooling blood and dusting for prints. Louie stood up when he spotted Stillman and approached him "Hey Lieutenant" he looked over the kitchen again and sighed "This doesn't look good" he said sadly. Louie sighed and ran a hand over his face "I told the guys to be meticulous with this one, Rush is one of us" One of the other crime scene techs stuck his head around the corner and called "Hey Louie we found something" he said.

Louie nodded and he and Stillman followed him outside. Lilly's small back courtyard was covered in fresh snow, tainted by red that spread towards the fence, More techs were taking pictures of the drag marks that lead from the back steps. They followed the tech near the back gate. He pointed to the fence and Louie stooped to bag the small leather object, it was Lilly's id, coated in blood "We also found her service weapon and cell phone" he said handing Louie the other bagged objects. John stared down at the evidence bags in Louie's hands, he could make out Lilly's picture on the ID and he felt tears stinging his eyes.

"I want her found" Stillman said curtly and Louie nodded in agreement.

"Me too" he said.

Stillman eventually headed back inside to find Scotty.

Scotty had headed out to sit on her front steps to get some fresh air, this couldn't be happening. She was out there somewhere; hurt, probably scared and he hadn't been there. Hadn't been there to protect her to save her. "Detective Valens?"

Scotty looked up and saw to rookie homicide detectives standing at the foot of her stairs, looking at him curiously. "Yeah" he answered.

"Detective's Tim Dale and Geoff Thornton, can we ask you some questions?" Scotty snorted and stood up, these two rookies dared to question him about what happened. "'Bout what?" he snapped. Dale and Thornton exchanged a look, they'd heard that Scotty had a short fuse and where praying they didn't set it off.

"About what happened here, we understand that Detective Rush was your partner"

"Is" he corrected he could feel the anger surging around his system.

"Sorry?" Dale asked in confusion

"Detective Rush is my partner"

"What were you doing at your partner's apartment at eight in the evening?" Thornton asked as he looked over at Scotty in contempt.

"We are friends, we were hanging out. You never hang out with your partner after work?" Scotty could feel his anger rising even higher; they were actually wasting time questioning him when they could be out looking for Lilly.

"Yeah, but my partner ain't smokin hot" Dale muttered and Thornton smirked. Scotty saw read and he threw himself at Dale grabbing the scruff of his collar and raised his fist to wipe that smile off his face.

"Scotty!" Stillman yelled and Scotty let out a breath and released Dale, who backed away from Scotty quickly "Take a walk Scotty" his tone indicating it wasn't a request. Scotty nodded and walked towards his car, leaning against the door and burying his face in his hands. Will, Kat and Nick hurried over to him "Scotty, what happened?" Kat asked in a panic.

"Lil's house has been broken into, she's been hurt?"

"Is she alright?" Will asked, looking around for an ambulance, hoping to see her sitting on a stretcher. Scotty shook his head and the three other detectives exchanged frightened looks "She ain't..." Vera trailed off

"She's missin', she's just gone" Scotty said slowly "They found her badge and gun out the back"

Kat looked towards Lilly's apartment and saw Stillman and she sighed, she placed a hand on Scotty's arm giving him a reassuring smile then walked over to Lilly's front door.

"I gotta get out of here" Scotty said and he got into his car and before Will and Nick could say anything, Scotty was gone.

Scotty drove around looking for her for hours, he went to the hospitals, to the river, even to the little cafe they went to, on the only outside the house date they'd gone on, but she wasn't anywhere. He pulled over at a lookout overlooking the river. He walked over to the railing and stared out into the icy water below. Scotty reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, tugging free a small photo he had hidden behind his licence. Lilly and him, lying in bed, his arms wrapped around her and both wearing matching grins. He remembered that night; it was taken a few weeks after they had started sleeping together. She looked so happy, so peaceful, he just wished he could see her now, hold her. But he knew she was gone and he had to find her, he'd stop at nothing to find her. He drove back to his apartment and fell into bed. He felt something hard jabbing into his side. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small box and opened it up. The small gold necklace that he was going to give to her glinted in the light from the street light that shone through his window. He'd keep this safe for her and when he found her, he'd give it to her than.

He only slept a few hours that night, he had dreams about her, watching her slip threw his fingers and disappearing into darkness, seeing her covered in blood screaming for him to help her as a dark figure stood over her.

He jolted awake; a thin sheen of sweat was covering his body. He glanced at the clock. 2 am. This is ridiculous he thought to himself and he swung his legs out of bed and stood up to have a shower. Consequently he was at the department before anyone else and he sat down at his desk, he couldn't stop staring at her empty chair. Stillman came in shortly after five, seeing Scotty staring off into space he sighed and walked over to him "Scotty, you okay?" he asked

"Huh?" Scotty looked up and saw his Boss standing beside his desk "Yeah Boss, just tired, didn't sleep well last night" It was at this point Scotty noticed the empty archive box in his hand.

"What's that for Boss?" Scotty asked

"I asked the commissioner to let us handle this one" Stillman replied evenly "She was one of us Scotty"

Scotty shook his head in disbelief, he couldn't believe that Boss of all people would just give up on her "You don't need a box Boss, Lil ain't dead she's just missin' and we are gonna find her, alive and safe"

Stillman looked down at Scotty and frowned "Frannie said that much blood...I am sorry Scotty it doesn't look good"

"We ain't even sure that the blood is Lil's" Scotty retorted

"We should have the results back today Scotty"

"Who's looking after her cats?" Scotty asked

"They are still in the house, I guess we call the shelter" Stillman replied

"No, I'll take em, she loves those cats, has someone called her Dad?" Scotty asked, changing the subject as he returned his attention to her still empty chair.

Stillman seemed shocked "I had no idea she even knew where he was?" Stillman replied

"Yeah she reconnected with him a few months back" Scotty stood up "I'll go and talk to him, give him the heads up" He grabbed his coat and wound the scarf around his neck.

"Scotty it's five in the morning" Stillman called after him but Scotty was already stepping into the elevator and pressing the button for the parking garage.

Scotty slid into his car and turned it over, gunning the accelerator and tore out of the parking structure, speeding over to her father's place.

Scotty pulled up outside Cooper's house and sighed, last time he'd been here, Lilly had dragged him along so he'd act as a buffer between her and her father. Paul Cooper seemed nice enough. It was hard to picture him abandoning his daughters all those years ago Scotty could tell that he was trying to make amends. By the end of the evening Lilly had slowly begun to forgive him and open up to her father, in that moment Scotty had never been more proud of her. Lilly had dinner with him at least once a week after that, she told Scotty not to tell the others at work, wanting to make sure that Paul was really sticking around this time.

Scotty knocked on the front door and waited.

Celeste Cooper opened the door and it took her a few minutes to realise who it was "Scotty? What are you doing here?" she asked sleepily, tugging her robe tighter around her.

"Hey, is Paul here? I need to talk to him" Scotty suddenly realised what time it was.

"Yeah honey he is, are you alright?" she asked softly taking in his haggard appearance. Scotty shook his head and Celeste frowned, standing back to let him into the warm house "I'll get him up Scotty, wait here"

Scotty sank down into the stool that sat by the kitchen bench, he waited in silence praying that he'd be able to get through telling her father without breaking down. Paul Cooper entered the living room and looked curiously at Scotty "What's going one Scotty? Where's Lil?"

Scotty ran a hand over his face then looked Paul directly in the eyes "There's been an accident" he replied simply

"Has she been shot?" he asked suddenly fearful "Where is she?"

"I don't know Paul, her house was broken into, and her kitchen was covered in blood" Paul turned white as a ghost and sank down against the wall "I swear to you Paul, I am gonna find her and bring her back" Scotty said as he placed a hand on Paul's shoulder and squeezing it gently.

Paul swallowed the lump in his throat and looked up at Scotty "Do you love my daughter Scotty?" he asked. Scotty thought for a moment and slowly nodded "Yes sir I do and I promise that if I find the son of a bitch that hurt her I'll kill him myself" Scotty threatened fiercely

"Don't do anything stupid Scotty" Paul replied. Scotty smiled slightly, He sounded so much like Lilly.

He stayed a few more minutes longer, neither of them talking, then he handed Paul his card "My cell's on the back, call me if you wanna talk" Scotty said and Paul nodded "I'll be in touch"

Scotty left the house and drove back to the department, he was determined to find her, to bring her back and tell her what he should have told her before all is happened.


	4. Usual suspects

A/N: flashback is in italics, Chapter is rated M

Chapter 4: Usual Suspects

When Scotty arrived back to the squad room he found everybody there already. They all looked up as Scotty approached and smiled at him "Hey Scotty" Kat said.

"Hey" Scotty replied and he sat down "We got anythin' new to go on?" Scotty asked as he saw the stacks of files surrounding the small cluster of desks

"We are just lookin' back over some of Lil's recent cases, see if anyone threatened her"

"What about Kitchener" Scotty said, staring around at the others as though they were stupid "Bastard ran her off the road, tried to kill her"

"Will's picking him up Scotty" Stillman replied, trying to settle his hot headed detective.

"I want in on the interview" Scotty stated defiantly

Kat, Vera and Stillman exchanged looks "I don't think that's a good idea" Stillman said

"Why not Boss, she's my partner and if this bastard had anythin' to do with her disappearance I want to be there when he confesses"

"Yeah so you can knock his block off" Vera retorted quietly.

Scotty shot Vera a hardened glare then returned his attention to Stillman "Come on Boss" he pleaded.

"No Scotty, you can watch from observation, Will and Vera will be talking to him" Scotty sighed and relented "Fine" he snapped and he got up and slumped off to the breakroom for a coffee.

"He's taking this really hard" Kat said looking after her colleague with concern.

"We all are" Vera agreed

"But he seems...I don't know...like he's blaming himself" she said in a hoarse whisper so Scotty didn't over hear.

"That's his whole catholic guilt thing, reckons he should of been there to protect her" Vera replied

Just then, Will entered with Moe Kitchener in tow "Just in there" Will said pointing to the interview room and he shot them a smug grin before proceeding into interview room one. Scotty stared out at the man that walk past them, that son of a bitch looked too pleased with himself; he knew that he had something to do with Lil's disappearance. He'd give anything to be in that interview room, to wipe that smile of his face.

Will and Nick walked into the room and shut the door behind them "What can I do for you detectives "He asked with his evil smile firmly in place.

"We want to know where you were last night Moe." Vera asked

"Where's detective Rush this morning?" Moe asked coolly as he looked between Vera and Jefferies

From behind the glass, Scotty stiffened and gripped the window sill "Cockily son of a bitch" Stillman placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll ask the questions Moe, where were you last night between 7 and 8?" Vera asked again

"I was at McGinley's tavern over in fishtown"

"Any witnesses?" Jefferies asked as he sat down opposite Moe

"The bartender" he smirked "Why all the sudden fascination with my whereabouts?"

"Detective Rush's house was broken into last night" Vera said as he started to pace behind Moe.

"And you're asking me because she accused me of trying to run her off the road; surely that little bitch pissed more people off than just me"

Scotty wanted to launch himself through the window and strangle this guy, but the still present hand of John Stillman on his shoulder calmed him somewhat.

"Watch your mouth" Vera said tersely and Moe rolled his eyes.

"Detectives if you aren't going to charge me with anything, and I suspect you're not because you have no proof, I am going to leave" and he stood up and walked towards the door.

"We're gonna check out your story Moe if it doesn't add up we'll be back" Vera said and Moe shook his head and chuckled to himself as he walked out of the department.

Vera looked through the glass and frowned, Scotty was furious and he walked through the door that connected the observation room with the interview room. "What the hell?" he asked angrily "You just let that asshole leave?"

"We don't have any proof Scotty, we are gonna check out his alibi" Jefferies replied calmly

"I know that bastard hurt her, he tried to run her off the road and now he's..."

"Scotty, if he did this, we will get him but we can't arrest him without proof"

Scotty kicked the chair out of his way as he stormed out of the room and headed for the balcony and leant against the railing. He could feel the lump in his throat growing larger, and tears welling in his eyes. He ran a hand over his face and sniffed back his tears when he heard the door open and Kat walk to stand next to him. "You know this isn't your fault right? What happened to Lil isn't your fault"

"I was runnin late, I was supposed to be there at eight and I didn't get there till ten past, if I had just been there on time...I could of saved her" he tried desperately to stop the tears from falling but it was no use, Kat put her hand on his arm and squeezed it gently.

"You gotta stop beatin yourself up for all the bad things that happen in life Scotty" Scotty swallowed hard and nodded "I really care bout her Kat"

"I know" Kat said and she could feel her own tears stinging her eyes. Stillman came out onto the balcony, clearing his throat and Kat and Scotty turned around "Frannie has some results for us"

They nodded and followed him back inside.

Frannie waited till they approached, a file in her hand. "What do you have for us Frannie?" Vera asked.

"You here to tell us that it ain't Lil's blood?" Scotty asked hopefully

Frannie sighed and shook her head "I am sorry Scotty, DNA matches Lilly's" It was if the world stopped spinning, all hope of finding Lilly alive shattered before their eyes and they all sank into their respective seats.

"Is there any way that you're wrong?" Scotty asked

Frannie took in the pained look on Scotty's face and sighed again "I wish I was, I am really sorry"

"I need a walk" Scotty said and he walked out of the department without looking back.

"Crap" Vera muttered looking after Scotty as he trudged out.

"Well I guess we can officially open a homicide investigation, I want this bastard caught" Stillman said and the others nodded.

Scotty walked towards the coffee cart outside and ordered his usual coffee and paid the vendor. With coffee in hand he started to walk down the steps leading up to central and sat down on a bench. There had to be some mistake, Lil couldn't be dead and he'd refuse to believe it until he saw her body.

...

That evening Scotty pulled up outside of her apartment again and walked up the stairs, carefully unlocking the door. Images of last night played over and over in his mind, walking up the stairs, finding her door unlocked. Walking into the kitchen and finding all that blood. Stillman had told him the cats would be in the laundry so he walked into the kitchen.

John had ordered the best cleaning crew in Philly to take care of her house, not a spot of blood remained on the linoleum floor, no handprints on her fridge, Lilly's new kitchen table had been up righted and the back door had been repaired.

Scotty ran his hands over the wooden surface of the kitchen table; he remembered what had happened to the old one a few months ago when he'd returned from a two night stay in Virginia for an interview for a case with Vera, and as if on cue the images played in his mind like a home movie.

_**Scotty looked at his watch as he walked up her steps and knocked on her front, it was one in the morning and he prayed that she would still be awake, but he had to see her, had to feel her lips on his. **_

_**After several minutes he heard the chain on the front door being released and the door slowly creep open. He smiled at her when he noticed that she was clad in one of his t-shirts "What are you doing here Scotty? I thought you weren't going to be back till this afternoon" He stepped closer to her forcing her back inside, he closed the door behind him and placed his hands on her waist.**_

"_**I had to see you" Scotty whispered "Convinced Vera to get us back a day early, he just dropped me off" Lilly's eyes widened in panic**_

"_**He dropped you off her? Scotty, are you crazy?" she asked hurrying over to the window and looking up and down the street as if expecting to see Vera waiting outside. He chuckled and came up behind her "Relax Lil, he dropped me off at the station, I walked here" His hands came to her waist again, turning her around"I missed you" Scotty said softly as he lowered his head to capture her lips with his.**_

"_**I missed you too" Lilly replied between kisses**_

"_**You look good in that" Scotty said indicating the top with a jerk of his head and Lilly giggled "Course you look good outta it too" he added and she laughed again. Scotty returned his lips to hers and his hands slid down her body to her ass, pulling her tighter against him as he devoured her. **_

_**Scotty began to back her up as her hands slid under his jacket, causing it to fall to the floor. Next thing they knew they were in the kitchen and Lilly could feel the tabletop against her legs.**_

"_**This isn't my bedroom Scotty" Lilly said, his hands pulled up her shirt, flinging it to the ground "Bedrooms too far" and he lowered her back against the surface of the table, inciting a moan from Lilly.**_

_**Their hands worked frantically for strip off his tie and un-button his shirt. Scotty's lips moved to her neck as she shoved his shirt from his shoulders and ran her hands down his chest to start work on his belt buckle. "Oh god Scotty" Lilly murmured as he began to suckle on her earlobe. Scotty moved his hands down to tug off her underwear and pressed his body harder against her. Lilly groaned loudly as Scotty's hardness strained against his work pants. Shoving his pants down his hips, Lilly pulled his face back up to meet hers and shoved her tongue into his mouth, now it was Scotty's turned to groan as Lilly wrapped one of her legs over his back. **_

_**Scotty pulled her closer to the edge of the table, aligning himself over. Scotty thrust himself deep inside of her and she gasped loudly. Scotty started out slow, his hands roaming over her body and he continued to move inside her. **_

"_**Lil" Scotty panted, pressing kisses to her chest, they moved together, faster and faster feeling the table rock beneath them. "Harder" Lilly cried and he obeyed.**_

_**It wasn't long before her orgasm hit her and she called out his name at the top of her lungs, Scotty could feel himself getting closer to his own release and he pounded into her harder. A loud creak emitted from the table and it was followed by an almighty crash and Lilly and Scotty, found themselves on the floor. **_

_**Lilly groaned in pain which turned into a laugh and Scotty raised himself up on his arms "Most guys would be offended when a girl laughs at them during sex" he said, which made Lilly laugh harder. She raised herself up to kiss his lips "You owe me a new table Valens" she said in between fits of giggles**_

"_**It takes two to tango Rush" Scotty replied.**_

He had gotten up early the next morning, gone out and bought her a new table, one with reinforced legs.

He smiled at the memory and opened the door of the laundry to grab the girls. They greeted him warmly, pleased to see a familiar face "Hey ladies, your gonna stay with me for a bit" Scotty said as he put down the cat carrier and opened it up. After collecting them up and grabbing their things he walked out of her apartment.

He arrived home and released the cats into his living room "You guys will be happy here, till Lil gets back" he said scratching Olivia on the head. She purred contentedly before running off to explore the apartment with Tripod.


	5. In a dark place

Chapter 5: In a dark place

The sound of dripping water reverberated around the room, the smell of mould and mildew was overpowering. She opened her eyes, scanning her surroundings. She couldn't determine were she was, the last thing she remembered was walking into her kitchen and now she's in the middle of nowhere. The ground below her felt hard and wet, she couldn't see more than three feet in front of her.

Lilly raised her head of the floor and tried to get up, pain shot down her left arm and she crumpled to the floor again. She felt around in the dark, trying to locate her cell phone but she couldn't find it anywhere "Crap" she murmured. She heard the crunching of gravel and her head turned to the far corner "Hello?" she called out "Is someone there?"

A low chuckle met her ears and Lilly felt a twinge of fear coursing through her, instinctively her hand went to her holster, no gun either, double crap. "Where am I?" she asked.

"Somewhere where no one will ever find you" the disembodied voice replied and she heard the footsteps echoing as they walked away.

She tried again to get to her feet, to go after him. She felt her way across the room. She finally found a door and tested the handle, locked. Her left arm throbbed painfully; she could still move her fingers so she didn't think it was broken. After exploring the rest of the room, she determined that there was only one door, no windows and no way of getting out.

Lilly slid down to the hard ground and sighed, she started to run things over in her head, trying to figure out her situation 1) The last thing she remembered was being in her kitchen so whoever grabbed her, probably was already waiting for her 2) she was locked in this small darkroom, no windows, so there'd be no way to tell where she was 3) she had no idea who this guy was or what he wanted with her, and 4) No cell phone so she wouldn't be able to call Scotty for help

Scotty, her heart ached as she thought of him, what must be going through his mind right now. To come over, find her gone...would he even look for her. She felt tears dripping down her cheeks as she thought of him, never had she wanted to see someone more in her life then she wanted to see Scotty in that moment, she wanted to feel his strong reassuring arms around her, his lips caressing her skin. To see his dark brown eyes, even just to hear his voice. Lilly thought back, all those months ago to when she'd invited him in for a drink on night after work and, they'd shared their first kiss; when he first had his hands on her body when she had first had her hands on him. The memory surfaced and she smiled to herself and closed her eyes.

"_**Thanks for the ride Scotty" Lilly said as he pulled up outside her apartment**_

"_**No problem Lil, what are partners for?" she smiled at him and undid her seatbelt. She made to open the car door then stopped "Do you wanna come up for a drink?" She asked hopefully "It's still early" Scotty looked across at his partner curiously then smiled.**_

"_**Okay, if you're sure?"**_

"_**Of course, were partners right?" He nodded and undid his own seatbelt and followed her up the stairs to her front door. Lilly put down her bag and placed her gun on the side table "So you want a beer?" Lilly asked as she headed for the kitchen. **_

"_**Sure, thanks Lil" She nodded and walked over to her fridge, giggling as the cats made their way out of the laundry at the sound of the fridge door opening. She stepped over them and walked back out to the living room and handed Scotty his beer. He smiled at her again and took a sip, Lilly brought her legs up under her and looked down at the beer in her hands. There was something she'd been meaning to ask him all day and she hopped as she took a deep swig of her beer, the alcohol would give her the courage "Scotty, can I ask you something?"**_

"_**Sure" He said as he leant back against her couch and looked over at her.**_

"_**What's going on here?" she asked softly, gesturing between them.**_

"_**We're drinkin' beer" he answered teasingly.**_

_**Lilly smirked and shook her head "No I mean, with..Us..It's just lately I been thinking that something has changed between us" she said "Like last week, when you dropped me off and you kissed my cheek, and yesterday when you put your hand on my leg when we were at first Thursdays..." She trailed off and ran a hand over her face "Scotty, have you been...hitting on me?"**_

"_**Yes" Scotty replied simply as he took another sip of his beer.**_

"_**But...why?" she asked slowly**_

_**Scotty shrugged "Because you're beautiful and I felt like it" he replied simply**_

_**Lilly felt herself blushing and she turned away "You shouldn't say stuff like that Scotty" she said feeling a bit uncomfortable under his intense gaze.**_

"_**Why not?" Scotty asked, moving closer to her **_

"_**Because, we're partners and you're my best friend and friends and partners don't say stuff like that to each other"**_

_**Scotty raised his hand and turned her head to face him "Well do friends and partners do this..." he leant forward and lightly pressed his lips to hers. She gasped and jumped back from him "Scotty, don't" she said weakly as her eyes fluttered shut and she swallowed hard.**_

"_**Why not?" he asked again as he moved in and kissed her lips again, one of his hands landing on her leg, his thumb caressing the inside of her thigh. Lilly tried once again to protest but as she felt his tongue gently touching her lips she found her inhibitions slipping away and she opened her mouth and allowed her partner's tongue to slid into her mouth. **_

Lilly's opened her eyes, hoping that it was all a dream and that she would be in her bed, in Scotty's arms. But she was still in the small dark and cold room, still all alone and still missing Scotty.

* * *

Scotty groaned as he rolled over, going to bed with a bottle of southern comfort, in retrospect, was a bad idea. He sat up slowly and ran a hand over his face, trying to shake off his hangover. He looked over to the other side of the bed; it had been months since he'd slept alone, they'd always spent every night together expect for when he had been in Virginia ( and even then, they spoke on the phone practically all night) either at his place or hers but they couldn't stand being apart.

He ran a hand over her pillow, picturing her still lying there, waiting for him to wake her up with a kiss or a coffee like he always did. He sighed and swung his legs out of bed, he needed to take a shower, clear his head and get to work, and he needed to find her.

The shower did little to ease his throbbing headache and he gingerly walked over to his closet and opened the door, he instinctively grabbed one of Lilly's favourite shirts, and the matching tie that she'd bought him on a whim. He stood staring down at it for a few minutes, watching the materiel fall through his fingers before draping it around his neck and doing it up. He remembered the first time he worn that tie and Lilly had dragged him back to the bedroom with it still around his neck.

He finally arrived at work, wearing his sunglasses to combat the harsh glare of the lights in the squad room and clutching at the large cup of coffee. He slumped down at his desk and tried to concentrate on something Vera was saying to him. A balled up piece of paper hit him on the side of his head and he jerked out of his trance.

"Huh" he said stupidly

"Scotty, I've been trying to get your attention for like five minutes" Vera explained "Kitchener's alibi checked out a dozen people remember seeing him there the other night" Scotty sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Crap"

Kat walked pasted his desk and stopped as she took in his dishevelled appearance "It ain't that bright in here Valens" She said and she reached out to remove his sunglasses from his eyes. She gasped as she saw the dark circles under his eyes and watched as he winched, under the sudden exposure of his sensitive eyes to the harsh lights. "You look like hell" she commented.

Scotty scowled and snatched the glasses back from her and replacing them on his head, returning his eyes to darkness "Are you sure you should be here Scotty" she asked

"You tell me where I should be then" Scotty retorted angrily and he stood up, stalking off to the breakroom. Kat sighed and sat down on the edge of his desk "I knew he'd was takin' this hard but he's back to where he was when he lost Elisa" Vera said looking after his friend with concern.

Scotty returned to the others a few minutes later and Will and Stillman had joined them. "So what's the next step?" Kat asked "Is there anyone else that threatened her?"

"What about James Hogan" Scotty suggested

"Who?" Kat asked

"A case Lil worked a few years ago, James Hogan, he confessed to killin his Grandmother. He got kinda attached to Lil, wrote her letters." Scotty answered

"Why would he wanna hurt her, thought he had a crush on her?" Will asked

"A few months ago, she told him to stop callin her and sendin her letters, mighta pissed him off" Scotty replied

"Ain't he still in prison thought?" Vera asked

"Yeah, mighta reached out to someone" Scotty offered

Stillman nodded "possible, we can go talk to him"

"I am goin Boss" Scotty said and he stood up, grabbing his coat. Stillman knew it was pointless to argue with Scotty so he nodded again "Let me just grab my coat and I'll join you"

They drove over to the prison in silence, Scotty uncharacteristically letting Stillman drive; he could still feel the effects of the alcohol from last night. Stillman kept shooting him concerned glances, worried that his youngest detective was falling into old habits. "Scotty, I know you cared about her, we all did" Stillman began "But showing up to work hung-over or still drunk from the night before, I told you five years ago after Elisa died that I won't accept it"

"I am fine Boss" Scotty lied

"I am serious Scotty; don't make me have to report you to IAD"

Scotty opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it and closed it again.

James sat patiently at the visitor table, when he heard that Homicide detectives wanted to speak with him he thought that Lilly was comming to see him, his face fell however when he saw that it was not Lilly, but her partner and another one he hadn't met before. He looked curiously at them as they came over to his table and sat down.

"Where is detective Rush?" he asked looking slightly frightened at the look the dark haired detective shot him.

"You remember me James, detective Valens and this is Lieutenant Stillman"

James nodded but still looked confused "Why did you want to talk to me?" He said "I don't know anything about any murders"

Scotty shook his head "No James we wanted to ask you something else"

"Okay"

"Did you get pissed off when detective Rush told you to stop writing to her?" Scotty asked

"No, I figured I might have been coming across a little creepy" he replied "Why?"

"Detective Rush's house was broken into the other night, do you know anything 'bout that?" Stillman asked softly.

"No, is she okay?" he asked concern etching across his face

Stillman waited a beat and slowly shook his head "No James, she's not"

James stared down at the table, his breath coming in short rasps.

"You haven't heard anything have you?" Scotty asked "Anyone braggin? Or making threats?"

"No, I haven't" he replied "But she is a cop, you guys ain't exactly popular around here"

Scotty was getting frustrated; he could have sworn that James had something to do with Lilly's disappearance just like he was sure that Moe had hurt her. He looked across the table at James and saw the sympathy reflected in his eyes and sighed "If you hear anything" he reached into his pocket and handed him one of his cards "call me, okay"

James nodded "If I hear anything I'll call you Detective Valens" He said. Scotty nodded curtly and stood up; Stillman followed him back towards the door.

"I am really sorry detectives" he added as they walked through the metal doors.

The ride back was equally silent; Scotty couldn't help but run the last few days in his head, trying to see if there was anything he missed, anything that was out of place, something that might give him a clue as to who may have hurt Lilly but he couldn't think of anything, he must be losing his touch, how could there not be any clues "So what now?" Scotty asked

"We'll stop by crime lab, see if they got any hits off the prints they lifted from Lilly's house" Stillman replied and Scotty nodded, hopefully this would give them a solid lead to go on.

Louie looked up from his desk as they walked in and smiled "Hey guys" he said

"Hey Louie, got anything for us?" Stillman asked

"We got a few prints from the kitchen, mostly were Detective Rush's and there was another set that we can't identify, whoever they are they aren't in the system"

"Anything else from the scene that can give us a lead?" Scotty asked

"We found some fibres in the lock on the back door, we are running it through the mass spec now" Louie said, as if on cue the large machine in the corner beep incessantly and Louie walked over, taking the report out and reading it. "Seems to be a Kevlar thread" he said

"Kevlar as in what they use in bullet proof vests?" Scotty asked taking the report out of Louie's hand

"Yes that's one of its uses but this has traces of leather with it"

"What does that mean?" Stillman asked

"Welding gloves" Louie suggested

"So a welder broke into Lil's and kidnapped her" Scotty said sarcastically, Louie just shrugged again

"I am just saying that what we found"

"I suppose that gives us something to go on, we can narrow our search results to suspects who would come into contact with welding gloves" Stillman and Scotty thanked Louie and walked back up to the bullpen to inform the others of what they found.


	6. Out in the open

A/n: Remember flashbacks in italics

Chapter 6: Out in the open

After running the search results through the computer they came up with three possible suspects. Harvey Truman, Lilly and Scotty arrested his wife a few months ago for killing her sister back in 98; he threatened to hurt Lilly as badly as she had hurt him. Daniel Adler, the team arrested his grandfather for killing his business associate in the 50s and he sent Lilly a bunch of dead roses, telling her that she'd be next and finally Gretel Washington, Lilly arrested her father for killing her mother and her lover in 2001, she insisted that her father was innocent and when it went to trail, he was found guilty and sentenced to death, she screamed across the court room that she was going to make Lilly pay for destroying her family.

Harvey Truman worked for a small construction firm out of Fishtown where he worked as a welder. Scotty and Will went to talk to him over at the construction site his firm was working on. Harvey rolled his eyes as he saw Will and Scotty approach "Come to arrest more innocent people detectives?" he asked sarcastically.

"Your wife wasn't innocent Mr Truman" Will retorted "She killed her sister"

"It was an accident but you bastards couldn't see that" he said as he walked over to his bag, taking out a pair of welding gloves and sliding them on "What did you want now?"

"We wanted to know your whereabouts on Monday night Harvey" Will asked

"It's none of your business" he snapped as he picked up his welding iron.

"Can you put that down and answer the question" Harvey sighed and put the iron down folding his arms across his chest and staring at the two detectives.

"Where were you on Monday night?" Scotty asked, wanting nothing more than to grab this guy by the scruff of his neck and throttle him.

"I was home" Harvey snapped, his eyes fixed on Scotty's.

"Can anyone confirm that?" Scotty asked

"No, I live alone now remember" He glared directly at Scotty "Why are you asking me these questions?"

"You threatened Detective Rush when we arrested your wife" Will pointed out, trying to put himself between Scotty and Harvey.

"Yeah, so" he snapped

"Her apartment was broken into, she was attacked" Will replied

He smirked and laughed softly, Scotty could feel his blood boiling "And you think I did it?"

"Well you did threaten her" He supplied

"Yeah but I wouldn't actually do anything about it" He replied "I was pissed off and that bitch hounded my wife until she confessed, now she's in prison for the rest of her life, our daughter is four, still asks where her mommy is"

"Watch your mouth" Scotty said as he took a step towards him, Will placed a hand on Scotty's shoulder. "We are going to need you to provide your finger prints and those gloves for comparison" Will said

"Fuck off, I didn't hurt your partner" Harvey said

"Are you refusin'?" Scotty asked he would love nothing more than to handcuff this smarmy bastard and drag his sorry ass back to the department for interfering with a police investigation.

"Get a warrant them come back" he replied and he picked up his welding torch again. As Scotty and Will turned to leave he called after them "I didn't hurt that bitch, but I'd like to shake the hand of the guy that did" Scotty was about to lunge at Harvey but Will held him back.

"Ignore him Scotty, we'll come back with a warrant and wipe that smile off his face"

Scotty shrugged out of Will's grip and slouched back to the car.

* * *

Kat and Vera walked into the first floor apartment of Daniel Adler's apartment, Daniel used welding gloves in his sculptures, maybe he was their guy. They knocked on the door "Hang on" a voice called and they heard the locks being released and the door opened slowly. A woman stood in the door "Can I help you?" she asked

"Detectives Miller and Vera, Homicide we wanted to talk to Daniel Adler" Kat asked as she flashed her badge.

"Oh Sure, um come in and I'll go get him" she said and they followed her into the living room.

A few minutes later she came back in closely followed by a man in a wheelchair

Kat and Vera stood stunned as their suspect stopped in front of them. "Detectives, can I help you?" he asked curiously looking from Kat and Nick

"You're in a wheelchair?" Vera asked unnecessarily

"Oh yeah, was in an accident last year, on my motorbike, stupid me not wearing a helmet" he said smiling

"We just wanted to ask you a few questions Daniel" Kat said

"Sure fire away" he said as Kat and Nick sat down "My grandfathers alright though?"

"Yes he's fine, you made threats against one of our detectives when she arrested your grandfather"

"Oh yes, I really been meaning to apolgise to her, I was a compete jerk. I couldn't believe at the time that my grandfather would do something like that. But we've talked since then and I now understand what happened, Detective Rush was merely doing her job" He said

"So you don't still hold a grudge against her?" Kat asked

"God no, when I got in my accident" he said rolling over to the table by the couch "I found god, he taught me to forgive, why are you asking about her?"

"Detective Rush's house was broken into and she was attacked"

"That's awful, who would do something like that?" he asked, when Vera and Kat exchanged a look he continued "You think I did it?"

"Well we did, but now seeing you in this chair"

"Well I can give you a DNA sample if you want, I was here with my girlfriend Tina, and you can ask her"

Kat and Vera took his fingerprints but they both knew that it was unlikely that Daniel was their doer.

* * *

Gretel was their last suspect but she was proving hard to locate, so when the clock hit eight that evening Stillman insisted that they all go for a drink to unwind. Scotty really didn't feel like going out he much preferred to go home and get drunk. But after much begging from the rest of the squad he relented.

They sat in their usual booth at the back of the bar, the drinks flowed and before too long they were all talking about Lilly. Scotty at first thought this particular topic would be too painful but after a few minutes he actually felt relived and he was soon laughing along with the rest of them. Vera started to tell everyone how he first met Lil

"So she walks into the department, and I thought she was coming to report a crime" He picked up his beer and took a sip "So I say to Will that I bet I could get her phone number"

"Weren't you married?" Kat asked

Vera shrugged "That's neither here nor there" Kat rolled her eyes and the other chuckled "Anyway, I walk right up to her, start laying on the old Nick Vera charm" Jefferies chocked on his beer and started to laugh heartily "As I was saying I sitting there, laying it on thick for her and then she just smiles and says 'I am gonna stop you right there, I am detective Rush I am starting at Homicide today, and while I am flattered and all I am pretty sure IAD wouldn't like us to date'" the others laughed "I swear I was speechless for the rest of the day and you guys gave me hell for weeks afterwards" he added pointing to Stillman and Jefferies.

Scotty stood up and grabbed the empty jug "I am going to get the next round, anyone want anythin?" he asked. They shook their heads and Scotty walked towards the bar. "Hey Valens" a drunken voice slurred from a table near the bar. Scotty turned around and spotted a few other cops he'd recognised by face but not by name. "Hey" Scotty said and he turned to face the bar.

"We all heard about your partner, we wanted to say sorry" he slurred and he raised his glass.

"Thanks" he replied

"So how was she?" he added, his friends snorted with laughter

"Excuse me?" Scotty asked

"In bed, how was she?" he asked "Greg here thinks she must of been a tom cat in the sack, she had a great ass, nice tits to" the one called Greg, laughed even harder and fell off his seat.

"Oh I know I musta misheard you" Scotty said darkly, it was taking all his strength not to rip this guy to shreds.

"Come on, the fact that you two were screwing each other is the worst kept secret in the PPD"

Vera and Will looked over towards Scotty as he approached a table nearest the bar. "What's happenin' over there?" Vera asked as he pointed over at Scotty, they recognised that look in their colleague's eyes; it was the look he got right before he beat the crap out of someone. "We'll be right back" Will said and he and Vera walked over to Scotty.

"You screwed her sister too didn't you? So tell me Valens who was better?" the drinken cop asked. Scotty grabbed him by the collar of his jacket "Why don't you shut up" he threatened

"Why you gonna hit me, that's your thing huh, beatin the crap outta people" Scotty relaxed his grip on the guys collar then aimed a punch right in his jaw. He stumbled before launching himself at Scotty, they managed to get in a few good punches each before Will and Vera separated them. Vera dragged Scotty out of the bar and outside into the cool night air.

"Let me go I wanna teach that bastard a lesson" Scotty yelled trying to get past Vera.

"The guy was wasted Scotty, he didn't know what he was sayin" Vera said, trying to keep his hot headed colleauge outside to cool off.

"That's no excuse, he insulted Lil, I am not bout to let that lie"

"Maybe you should just go home" Vera suggested

"Was he right? Does everyone know 'bout me and Lil?"

"Was it supposed to be a secret?" Vera asked a smile creasing his face "Come on man we all saw the way you looked at each other, like a couple of Mooney eyed teenagers. Not to mention the time we walked in on you making out in the evidence room"

Scotty chuckled as he remembered five months ago, when he and Lilly had been alone in the storage room, going over a case file. She was wearing that black blouse, the one that made it impossible to keep his hands off her.

"_**Stabbed and left for dead" Lilly said as she looked over the case file in her hand. Scotty was finding it difficult to breathe, as he watched her pursing the rest of the evidence in the box. He couldn't get over how hot she looked in that black blouse, he could just see her red satin bra, peeking through a gap in her shirt and he found himself getting turned on. Glancing around to make sure no one was looking before moving closer to her "Scotty, take a look at this" Lilly said not turning around. Scotty carefully placed his hands on her hips. "What are you doing?" she asked hurriedly, looking around and pushing his hands from her hip.**_

"_**No one's around Lil" he said softly**_

"_**That's not the point someone could walk in and we agreed that we were going to keep this quite" Scotty grinned roguishly and closed the gap between them, forcing her against the shelves "You look really hot in that blouse" he said his voice lowering seductively. Lilly bit her lip and rolled her eyes"Don't do this please" she begged "Can't you wait till later?"**_

_**Scotty shook his head and his hands caressed her hips and slid behind to grip her ass. Lilly dropped the file in surprise and gasped as Scotty lowered his head to capture her lips with his. Lilly moaned softly as she felt his tongue slid into her mouth. Her eyes fluttered shut and her hands moved around his neck, running her fingers through his hair as he deepened their kiss.**_

Vera chuckled as he realised that Scotty was taking a trip down memory lane "Look man, if you wanna talk, or go get completely wasted" Scotty chuckled "You know where to find me"

"Thanks man, right now I think I just need to be alone"

Vera watched as Scotty walked down to the street corner and hailed a cab before turning to walk back inside.


	7. From somewhere dark and frightening

Chapter 7: From somewhere dark and frightening

Lilly's head shot up as she heard her captor's footsteps coming down the hallway towards her, she scrambled to her feet, hoping she could get more information from him. He hadn't said much the last two times he'd opened the hatch in the door to shove through. "Better keep your strength up detective it may be awhile before your dim witted colleagues find you".

"Please tell me why I am here" she asked

"I already told you detective, that's for me to know and you to figure out" he said evilly.

"At least tell me who you are?"

He cackled and slammed the hatch shut "Now, now, now detective" he scolded through the hatch "I am not that stupid"

Lilly swore as he walked away, what kind of detective was she that she couldn't even get that information off him. She picked up the mug of water and took a sip, immediately spitting it back out, it tasted metallic, stale. But she was so thirsty; she didn't know when she would get more water so despite the horrible taste she took another sip. Shuddering, Lilly swallowed contorting her face in distaste. She turned to see the small amount of bread that he'd given her too; it seemed like days since she'd eaten. Those Cheese steaks with Scotty as they walked back to the department, normally she avoided them like the plague especially if she was watching Scotty eat them, but in this moment, she eat a truckload of them, smothered in cheese whiz.

She walked back over to the small rug she'd discovered in the corner and draped it around her shoulders and sighed. She just hoped that Scotty and the others would find her soon. She been thinking about him constantly, about his lame jokes that always made her laugh, about his cocky grin that sent shivers down her spine, about that small scar on his chest that he claimed he got in a fight but she found out it was when he'd run into an dining room table when he was three. She'd also been thinking about his kisses, his hands running over her body, the amazing, mind blowing sex that she'd experienced over the last six months.

Now she would be lucky if she ever saw Scotty again, before she could stop herself, tears began to flow down her cheeks again.

* * *

Scotty walked into the department and was just about to sit down when Stillman summoned him into his office. Scotty knew what was coming, he knew last night when he punched out that asshole that he was going to get lecture. What he didn't expect was to see IAD sitting in the seats, opposite Stillman's desk. "Take a seat Scotty" Stillman said, pointing to the spare seat by the desk. He cautiously lowered himself into the chair, his eyes flicking between Stillman and the IAD agents. "Scotty, this is agent Martin and you know agent Davidson"

Scotty recognised the jerk that had interviewed him, twice, over the Ed Marteson shooting.

"How are you Detective Valens, it's been awhile" Davidson said with that slimy smile plastered over his face.

"Yeah" Scotty replied

"Scotty, we wanted to talk to you about last night" Stillman said and Scotty turned away from glaring at Davidson at face his Boss

"Okay" he said

"We had a complaint made against you Detective; you assaulted a Detective Bruce Thorpe last night at Jones' tavern" Davidson said icily

"The bastard insulted my partner, he deserved it" Scotty replied

"I see you still haven't looked into anger management counselling Detective"

"Look is this gonna take long? I have work to do" Scotty snapped

"That's what we are here for Detective; we understand that you and Detective Rush were entangled in an inappropriate relationship for the past six months" Agent Martin said looking between both Davidson and Scotty.

"Okay, so we're dating" Scotty admitted

"You are aware that it is against policy"

"Yes, that's why we kept it a secret" Scotty couldn't help but add cheekily, and he smirked at the anger that flashed across Davidson's face.

"I already spoke to the commissioner about this issue agent Davidson, he has agreed to allow it as long as it doesn't affect their work and so far it has not" Stillman said

"We are aware of this arrangement lieutenant Stillman, but as now your latest case is the death of Detective Rush we cannot allow Detective Valens to continue to work this case"

Scotty stood up and folded his arms across his chest "I am not dropping this case" Scotty said "She's my partner"

"She was also your girlfriend, Detective. And we don't allow Detectives to work on cases involving family or their girlfriends"

"Is" Scotty corrected "She is my girlfriend" Why did everyone speak about Lilly in the past tense, it was driving him insane.

Stillman, Davidson and Marten exchanged glances. Neither one of them wanted to speak "Scotty, I am sorry but you do realise that Lilly is dead"

"She ain't dead" Scotty snapped "I ain't gonna believe she's dead until I see a body" How could they just give up on her like that, she was Lilly Rush, there's no way she'd go out like that, no way she'd died like that.

"We are recommending a three week suspension for the assault, you're lucky that detective Thorpe doesn't want to press charges."

Scotty glowered at Davidson "Starting when?" he asked

"Now, we will need your gun" Davidson said, grinning acidly. He'd wanted to get rid of Scotty for years and this suspension, although short was a good start.

Scotty walked out of Stillman's office and over to his locker, returning a few minutes later he handed over his gun. Stillman tried to stop him before he stormed out but Scotty was already grabbing his coat and punching the button on the elevator with enough force to break the tiles on the wall.

After IAD left Will headed into Stillman's office and sat down opposite his old friend "What happened with Scotty?" he asked

"He got a mandatory three week suspension" Stillman removed his glasses and gently massaged his temples "I am worried about him Will, he still doesn't think she is dead, until he accepts it I don't think he is going to move on"

"He's in pain Boss, first he lost Elisa and now Lil, he just needs time. I think he really loved her Boss"

"Yeah I know, he was really happy for the first time in years" Stillman said "So was Lil" Will got up and left Stillman's office and returned to his own desk to continue the search to Gretel Washington.

* * *

Scotty got back to his apartment and threw himself onto his couch, he hadn't been home during the day since he had that terrible bout of flu he had a few months ago. He tried to drag himself out of bed but Lilly refused to let him leave the apartment; threatening to handcuff him to the bed. Which actually Scotty found extremely sexy.

He'd remembered how well she took care for him when she'd gotten back from work. She bought him chicken soup, wrapped him in blankets and brought him a copy of the cutting edge on DVD, his guilty pleasure. He chuckled as he remember snuggling up in his bed with his arms around her, despite him worrying she'd get sick, she'd refused to leave his side. That was the first time he realised that he was in love with her, watching her shovel popcorn into her mouth and telling him what crap taste he had in movies. Scotty walked over to his liquor cabinet and took out a bottle of scotch, he was about to pour himself a glass when he thought better off it, instead he pick up his phone and called his brother. Mike invited him over for dinner and Scotty agreed, he didn't really want to be alone.

Mike seemed concerned at his brother's sudden change in mood, last week he was happy, joking around and now, god he sounded like the world had come to an end. Allie insisted that Mike invite his brother for dinner. When Scotty arrived a little after six that evening, he was greeted happily by his nephew "Uncle Scotty!" he cried wrapping his arms around Scotty's legs.

"Hey Em"

Emilio ran back inside the house, dragging his uncle with him and out into the living room out the back. "Hey Scotty" Allie said as she came out of the kitchen and walked over to him.

"Hey" he said kissing her cheek.

Allie kept her hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze "Are you okay Scotty? You don't look good"

"Fine, really" he said unconvincingly

"Mike is running late, got held up at work he should be here soon" Allie said as she moved back into the kitchen. Scotty's niece Ava; started to fuss in her playpen and Scotty walked over and picked her up, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Ava wrapped her fingers around his and gurgled happily. He couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to have kids of his own. To be able to hold them, kiss them, teach them to walk, talk, and watch them grow up. He fantasised about having children when he was with Elisa, but as she got sicker and sicker his dreams grew fainter and fainter. It wasn't until he started seeing Lilly that he had started to allow himself to dream again, he pictured watching Lilly's belly getting rounder with their growing baby inside, imagined the doctor handing him their baby in the hospital, dreamed of watching their little one take its first tentative steps. But now it seemed those dreams were disappearing before his eyes as well and that broke his heart even more.

Mike came home twenty minutes later grabbed Scotty a beer and the two of them walked out onto the back porch, sitting down on the deck chairs.

"So what's really the problem? And don't give me the 'I am fine' crap, I know there is something wrong" Mike asked as he looked across at his brother.

"You remember my partner Lilly right?" Mike nodded "Well she's...missing"

"What do you mean missing?" Mike asked

"Her apartment was broken into, she was attacked and now she's..."

"Oh my god"

"They took me off the case" Scotty said morosely

"Why would they do that?" Mike asked

"Maybe because we were datin'" Scotty said with a hint of sarcasm

Mike picked a bad time to take a drink and he chocked and coughed loudly, Scotty patted him on the back until he regained the power of speech "You and Lilly were dating" Scotty nodded. "Man, I am so sorry" Mike said sincerely "I had no idea you guys were together"

"Well no one was meant to, turns out that everyone knew" Scotty chuckled slightly, Mike laughed "Well you were always pretty crap at hiding things like that" Mike said clapping his brother on the back.

"After Elisa I just thought that I'd never...you know...find anyone else" he said "But when Lil and I started seeing each other it all came back. I love her man and she's gone and I never told her how I felt about her and she deserved to know Mike"

"I am sure she knew how you felt about her" Mike said as he took another swig of beer. Allie poked her head out the door and smiled "Dinner is ready" she called

"Thanks Allie" Mike said and he and Scotty walked inside.


	8. Missing you

A/n: Yet another flashback in this chapter, hopefully you aren't sick of these yet.

Chapter 8: Missing you

Lilly picked up the rocks again and struck them together for the third time, the spark lit up the darkness for the briefest of moments before she was plunged into darkness. Sighing in frustration she tried once more. This time, the spark hit the small pile of leaves, sticks and the piece of blanket she ripped off and the small fire broke out. She smiled and stacked smaller rocks around the blaze to contain it. At last she could see the kind of room she was in, it looked like a cave, the door was solid steal, large rivets, like you see in shipping containers. She stood up and walked over the door again, and ran her fingers over it, trying to see if she could find a keyhole. If she could find it, she could pick the lock. When Scotty had showed her how to pick a lock, she never thought she'd need to use it. But now she was glad she did.

No such luck, no keyhole "Crap" she whispered again and she ran her fingers through her hair. Shivering slightly, Lilly returned to the fire and sat down beside it. At least now she is warm, maybe with this light, when her captor came back she might get a glimpse of his face. If she could find out who he was, maybe she'd find out why he was keeping her here.

Scotty left his brother's house at nine that evening, Emilio practically beg him to read him his bedtime story. After the third reading of Emilio's favourite book, he'd managed to get away. Mike walked him out to his car and gave his brother a pat on the back "Look man if you need to talk" Mike offered. Scotty nodded "Thanks man" Scotty slid behind the wheel and drove off down the street.

He arrived back at his apartment and wanted nothing more than to collapse on his couch, maybe watch some crappy movie. He was channel surfing trying to find something to watch to take his mind of Lilly, when Olivia hopped up onto the couch beside him and rubbed her head against his hand. He chuckled and ran his hand over her orange fur, he'd been a little freaked out the first time he'd seen her cats but as the weeks turned to months he found that actually had grown on him. He sighed and walked over to the kitchen, Olivia and Tripod followed happily and Scotty fed them.

He yawned and figured that maybe he'd go get some sleep, maybe tomorrow he'd go over to Lil's father, give him an update.

He opened his closet to take out his sweatshirt when he spotted his PPD t-shirt and he pulled it off the hanger. It was the t-shirt Lilly always wore when she stayed over, he could still smell her perfume on the collar. He inhaled it deeply and it was if she was in the room with him, wrapping her arms around his waist like she always did, pressing a kiss to his shoulder. It made him think of the first time she'd stayed over at his place, about a week into them sleeping together. He remembered that they were at first Thursdays, trying not to look like anything was going on between them, which he had found extremely hard because she'd let her hair down and he couldn't stop picturing running his hand through it, he had to sit down for most of the night so no one would see the significant bludge in his pants. So when everyone else left he offered her a lift and she accepted.

_**Scotty opened the door to his apartment and pushed it open, gesturing for Lilly to enter. She smiled and slid her coat off her shoulders as she walked over the threshold and casted her eyes around the room. It was smaller than she was expecting but nevertheless it was tastefully decorated. "Nice" she said simply as he crossed the room and took her coat.**_

"_**I like it" he said "Can I get you a drink?" he asked.**_

_**Lilly smiled and shook her head "No, I think I want the grand tour"**_

_**Scotty chuckled as he slipped out of his coat and hung them both up on the back of the door "Okay then, well the kitchen is through to the left". He said pointing over her shoulder "And the bathrooms that door over there"**_

"_**Where's the bedroom?" Lilly asked, feeling suddenly bold. Scotty looked a bit shocked at first but he grinned as Lilly closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Why do you wanna see that?" he asked grinning down at her**_

"_**Guess" she replied simply. **_

_**Scotty chuckled "Are you sure that I can't get you something to drink first?" he asked as he wrapped her arms around her waist.**_

"_**Maybe after" Lilly muttered as she reached up and pressed her lips to his, Scotty grinned and his hands slid down her body to her ass. Lilly gasped in his mouth and he lifted her up, she wrapped her legs around him and he walked down the hall to his bedroom, kicking the door shut behind him.**_

Scotty flopped back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling he wished he could turn back time; tell her then that he was in love with her. He knew it back then, hell he's known it for years, ever since he'd met her that fist day in the observation room. He shook her hand and she smiled at him, his heart skipped a beat and he thought 'oh crap, how am I gonna work with her when she looks like that'. He chuckled to himself as he remembered how much of a ball-buster he thought she was, god how so wrong he could be about someone and yet so right at the same time.

She seemed to relax over the coming weeks and he'd seen a different side of her, a side that she rarely let anyone see and he found he was infatuated with her. But she didn't notice him in that way; he had to watch her date loser after loser. Kite, Joseph, Ray, each time he watched her heart get broken he tried to get up the courage to tell her how he felt, but he'd chicken out. Finally after Eddie, he'd had enough of watching her get crushed and he made his move.

Now all these months later, he was the one that was getting his heart broken, she was gone and although he wished that he'd prove everybody wrong and find her alive, he knew that as each day passed the likelihood of her being found alive was growing fainter and fainter.

The next morning he got up and walked over to the shower, got changed and drove over to Paul's house. Even though he couldn't go work, he wanted to be around people who reminded him of Lilly; people who had seen a bit of the Lilly that he loved so much.

Paul grinned as he opened the door to Scotty and stood back to let him in. "Hear anything about Lilly?" he asked hopefully.

"No new leads" Paul's face fell and he raised a wrinkled hand over his eyes "I am sorry Paul, I screwed up" Scotty said "Me and my short temper got me kicked off her case" He admitted

Paul chuckled slightly "Lilly said you had a short fuse, she told me that it was something she hoped she could change about you"

Scotty smiled and sat down on the couch "She used to have a go at me about it, when we were just partners" Scotty admitted

"She is an amazing woman Scotty, she is strong and she will be fine because she has to be" Cooper said. Scotty nodded, tears filled his eyes again and slumped forward on the couch and Paul sat beside him, comforting Scotty as he cried silently.

* * *

Back in the department the rest of the gang had finally located Gretel Washington in New Jersey. Will and Kat drove up to ask her questions about Lil's disappearance. On the way up Kat stared silently out the window, she had barely spoken two words in the last twenty-four hours.

"Do you think Boss did the right thing taken' Scotty off the case?" She finally asked, still staring out the window at the passing cars on the interstate.

"I really don't know, but something tells me Scotty won't give it up" Will said softly

Kat grinned "He definitely has a stubborn streak"

"That boys all stubborn streak, that's why I think he didn't give up on pursing Lil"

"I am glad, that she was happy for once before...She deserved to be happy" Kat said sadly.

"I feel for Scotty, this is the second time in his life that he's lost someone he loves; I just don't think he'd be able to do it again"

A few hours later they pulled up outside of Gretel's place and knocked on her door. When she opened it she groaned before standing aback and letting them in. "What do you want now? Ain't it enough you arrested my father, what are you here to arrest my husband to, or is it me you are after?"

"You were right the second time" Kat said

"Oh and what fictional crime have I committed?" She asked harshly walking down the hall to her kitchen.

"The kidnap and murder of a homicide detective "Will replied

"Excuse me?" she asked, turning around to face them "What couldn't find the real murderer so you hamstring me?"

"Where were you on Monday night Gretel?" Kat asked

"I was here, I have book club on Monday nights I can give you the names of everyone that was here, so you can try and twist that all you want, I didn't kill anyone"

"You threatened Detective Rush at your fathers trail" Will reminded her

Her eyes glazed over and she dropped the cup she was holding "You think I killed her?" she asked

"Do you have any evidence that proves otherwise?"

"I was here I swear...I would never kill anyone...I was just angry, but I never would of actually hurt her" she said in a panicked voice "I'll do anything to prove it"

"Are you willing to provide DNA and fingerprints?" Kat asked

Gretel nodded hurriedly, Kat and Will took what they needed, including the phone numbers for her alibis and left.

* * *

That afternoon ADA Thomas gave them the warrant for Harvey's DNA and fingerprints and Vera went to collect them. After much cursing and swearing he finally relented and submitted to the warrant.

Louie ran all the DNA and fingerprints they'd collected but they still didn't have a match. "How is that possible?" Vera asked "One of those assholes had to be our doer"

"Well all their alibi's check out and none of their fingerprints match Nick, we have to move on, find more leads" Stillman said, trying to keep his own emotions in check.

"What leads, that fucking fibre and fingerprint is all we got, we can't even bury her Boss, because that bastard took her away" Vera kicked a chair out of his way and stormed out of the room. Kat sighed and leant back against the wall "So what next Boss?" she asked

Stillman simply shrugged "I don't know Kat, I just don't know" he walked out too.

The three weeks of Scotty's suspension past quickly and he walked back into the department. He knew that he couldn't work on her case but just being there, watching them find her, to bring her back to him, gave him comfort.

"Hey guys" Scotty said as he approached his desk "How's it goin' gotten any leads?" he asked hopefully. He looked down at the case files on Kat's desk and frowned. They weren't Lilly's files "What's this?" he asked, holding up the file and flipping it open.

"Um Scotty, Boss wanted to see you" Nick said putting his pen down.

Scotty put down the file, looking between his colleagues and slowly he walked into Stillman's office.

He looked up as Scotty came in "Shut the door Scotty" he said.

Scotty paused, turned back around catching Kat's gaze briefly before she turned away. Scotty shut the door and walked back over to his desk. "Take a seat" he said pointing to the chairs opposite his desk.

"Why aren't they workin on Lil's case?" Scotty asked bluntly as he sank down in the proffered seat.

Stillman sighed and took off his glasses "Scotty, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but we are...stopping work on her case"

Scotty thought his heart had stopped "What?" he asked

"We have no leads Scotty, the commisoner has put a stop to the investigation" Stillman said sadly

"So you just givin' up on her, just like that"

"We worked this case Scotty" Stillman replied, he could see the anger building in Scotty's eyes

"Bullshit!" Scotty snapped "If you worked this case...she be sitting out in that bullpen right now, complaining that you put her on desk duty for the next three months"

"My hands were tied Scotty" Stillman said, trying to keep his voice calm

"I can't believe it, you of all people" Scotty said "I thought you of all people wouldn't have just sat there and take that crap from the Brass" Stillman stood up and walked over to Scotty, placing a hand on his shoulder. But Scotty shook it off and stood up "You failed her" Scotty muttered

"What?" Stillman asked feeling his own anger rising

"You failed her, she thought of you as a father and you failed her"

Stillman swallowed hard "I think you should take some more time off Scotty"

"Fuck you" Scotty replied and he stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind him. All eyes in the department followed Scotty as he stormed out of the squad room and down the steps, not wanting to wait for the elevator.


	9. Gotten cold

A/n: Thanks to all those who have reviewed so far.

Chapter 9: Gotten cold

Vera walked back to the car and slid into the passenger seat "Jones' says he hasn't seen him" he said turning to Will who was sitting in the driver's seat. "Crap" Will said

"We gotta find him before he does something stupid" Vera said.

"Think Boss will forgive him?" Will asked and Vera shrugged

"He's been AWOL for five days Will" Vera said with concern "He's not anywhere"

"Well he can't have just disappeared" Will started the car and pulled back onto the street. "We could try his place again?" he suggested

"Can't hurt I suppose"

* * *

Scotty stared out at the rooftops of the buildings surrounding his, taking another swig of the bottle of southern comfort in his hand. He'd cut off all communication from the people at work, hadn't seen anyone for the past five days. Her case had gone cold, how ironic he thought. She has spent the last eight years of her life solving cold jobs and now that's what she was, a cold job. How could they all just move on, like nothing had happened? How could they just give up on her like that?

He took another deep swig from his bottle and contemplated his next move. He didn't think he could face going back to work in that squad, without her, but he also knew that being a cop was the only thing left for him. It was the only thing he was good at, so he thought about transferring out. Out of homicide, but that wouldn't stop him from running into them again. What choice did he have, the only chance he'd have of finding out what happened to her was if he walked back into that squad room. But that would mean swallowing his pride and apologising to Stillman. He stood up, swaying slightly, shaking off that light-headedness that comes just as you start to get a bit tipsy, and walked back down to his apartment.

He stopped short when he spotted Vera and Jefferies standing by his front door, holding pizza and beer. He smiled as Vera slammed on the door again "Come on Scotty, open up"

"Maybe he wants to be alone" Scotty said, Vera and Will turned; Will almost dropped the beers he was carrying and they around and saw Scotty.

"There you are Scotty; we've been looking for you for the last five days" Vera said with noticeable relief in his voice.

"Yeah, well I didn't wanna be found" Scotty replied opening his door and walking in to his apartment "I was at my parents for a couple of days"

"We figured, look Scotty we could really use your help on this current case"

Scotty snorted and walked across to his liquor cabinet, replacing the bottle of southern comfort "Sure" he said sarcastically

"Look we know you're pissed off about Lil's case but you ain't the only one in pain, we all loved Lil like she was our sister"

"And she's my girlfriend" he yelled "I love her, more than I have ever loved anyone, including Elisa" he ran a hand through his hair "You don't get it"

This time it was Will's turn to get mad, he slammed down the six pack, crossed the room and grabbed Scotty by the scruff of his neck "Don't you dare tell me that I won't understand, I know exactly where you are, I told you that when Elisa died. My wife died Scotty, I never got over it but I don't think shutting everyone out is going to help." He released Scotty's shirt and pushed him back "So you are gonna sober up and get your ass back in that office and do your job, Lil wouldn't want it any other way"

Scotty sighed, Will was right "Fine, tell Boss I'll be back at work tomorrow" Scotty said

"Great, now let's crack open those beers and get stuck into the pizza before it gets cold"

* * *

Lilly was fast running out of materiel to keep the small fire going, embers flickered pitifully amongst the sticks and she knew it would only be a matter of minutes before the fire went out completely. She still had no idea how long she'd been lock in this god forsaken room, for all she knew it could have been days, weeks.

She sighed and slumped against the wall, she was starving and it felt like she hadn't eaten in years. She had tried trying to figure out what time it was, but with no windows she couldn't even tell whether or not it was night time or day time. If it was snowing or raining, she couldn't even tell if anyone was looking for her.

The disembodied voice spoke to her again from behind the door "So sad detective, it seems your team doesn't care you, they have shelved your case. Such a shame, that boyfriend of yours is still too thick to put the pieces together."

"Tell me how you are" Lilly asked trying to force back tears that were threatening to fall.

"I have told you that that is not important, you are a means to an end. I want your partner"

"What do you want with Scotty?" she implored

"Didn't you read any of my letters Lilly, I am crushed" Lilly's brow furrowed, letters? What letters? She racked her brain trying to remember, then it hit her "Recalling them now detective" he asked through the hatch way as he saw the glimmer of realisation crashed over her "Those letters hidden away in your drawer because you were too proud, to scared to show them to anyone." He laughed and walked away again.

It had all started a few years ago, after she'd been shot. She started getting strange letters addressed to the department in her name. The first few were just a few choice words that most criminals had called her or if not at least thought of her. Then they started to get creepier, started mentioning Scotty. Talking about how much he hated both of them, the thing he wanted to do to them. She didn't put much stock in it, thinking that it was just another nut and she definitely didn't show Scotty, he would have gotten even more over-protective than he already was. Now she was starting to wish she had shown someone.

Maybe just maybe, if they had really given up on her, Scotty would find those letters and he would track down this bastard.

* * *

Scotty walked into the department the next morning and sat staring at Stillman's office door, he knew that he was going to have to be brave and go grovel his ass off, to apologise for being an asshole, for yelling at his Boss.

Scotty knocked on Stillman's door and cleared his throat un-comfortably "Hey Boss"

Stillman looked at him over the rim of his glasses "Scotty"

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Scotty asked uncomfortably.

Stillman surveyed Scotty for a few moments, watching his shifting uncomfortably. "Sure Scotty, come on in" Scotty nodded and shut the door behind him; he walked over to the desk and sank down opposite his Boss.

"I came to apologise Boss, I know you'd never give up in Lil." Scotty eyes were fixed on Stillman's, desperately trying to convey his remorse.

Stillman pulled his glasses away from his face and sighed "I know you were hurting Scotty, we all are"

"Still no excuse for how I acted, I know you would have fought for Lil with the commissioner"

"Letting her case go...was one of the hardest thing I had to do Scotty"

Scotty nodded "I'll understand if you want me to leave the squad"

Stillman smiled and shook his head "I already lost the best detective on this squad, I don't want to lose the second best as well"

Scotty chuckled and stood up "I better get back to work" he said. Stillman nodded and Scotty left the office.

He sank down in his chair and Kat handed him a coffee, smiling slightly at him. "Thanks Kat" he said warmly

"Yeah well don't get used to this Valens" she replied "This charity has an expiration date" Scotty chuckled and took a sip from his steaming mug in his hands, perfect, just the right amount of sugar and milk and he smiled. It was just the way Lil had always made it for him on the weekends when he could actually stay at her place longer than the crack of dawn, he remembered the way she'd always wake him up with a soft kiss on his forehead and place the coffee by the bed. His smile faded as he looked over at her still vacant chair, he realised that he may never going to wake up to her smiling face again.

* * *

Lilly awoke with a start, breathing heavily. Her dream had been so vivid, that it took some time to realise where she was.

She had a dream about Scotty, more specifically their four month anniversary. It was so romantic; he was so amazing that even just thinking about it brought back tears of joy to her eyes and to think she had started that morning pissed off at him for forgetting what the day was.

"_**Men are bastards" Lilly muttered to herself as she walked down the stairs of the department "Can't believe that he forgot" she yanked open her car door and slid inside slamming it shut behind her.**_

_**Scotty had come over to her that afternoon and she thought he was about to tell her that he had book dinner at some romantic out of the way spot for their anniversary. Instead he told her that he was going to have drinks with the guys and that he wouldn't be over till later. As she drove over to her house she couldn't help but think that all this relationship was to Scotty was just Sex, nothing more than just sex. She swallowed back her tears; she wasn't going to cry over him, she wasn't going to waste her time crying over another crappy relationship. **_

_**She was going to give him till the rest of the evening to remember, than she was going to end this...whatever this was.**_

_**She pulled into the parking spot near her stairs and got out of the car, slumping up the stairs. What did you expect Rush, with your crap taste in men, same old story. **_

_**She grabbed the mail out of her mail box and was thumbing through the letters as she opened the door.**_

_**A soft flickering of candles, bathed the living room in a warm glow and Lilly lowered the letters in her hand. Staring around the room in awe, what the hell was going on here? She considered walking outside to check she'd actually gone into the right apartment. That was until Scotty walked out of her kitchen, smiling warmly at her "Happy anniversary baby" he said**_

_**He walked over to her and helped her out of her jacket. "What's going on?" she asked in surprise**_

"_**Can't a guy surprise his girlfriend on their anniversary?" he asked with that annoying, yet endearing cocky grin. **_

"_**But I thought you'd forgotten" Lilly protested "I thought you just thought that this" she gestured between them "Was just sex"**_

_**Scotty shook his head and pressed a kiss to her forehead "No Lil, this is more than sex" She grinned at him and pulled him into a deep kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled back from her to look her in the eyes and was shocked to see tears in her eyes.**_

"_**Baby what's wrong? I thought you were happy?" he asked in concern**_

"_**I am happy you idiot, I am crying because I happy" **_

_**Scotty smiled again and swept her up in his arms and carried her over to the couch, gently placing her down against the cushion. "I can make you happier" he said and she giggled and pulled her on top of her.**_

Lilly could still feel his lips on hers as if it were yesterday, that was the moment that she wanted to tell Scotty that she was in love with him. But those three little words had brought more pain to her life than anything else. She had spoken then to her father, and he'd left her. She had spoken them to Ray and he was hardly ever there. She agreed to marry Patrick, to tell him those three little words every day and it had only been too easy for him to hurt her.

So speaking those words to Scotty, out loud would only cement that things would eventually end between them, as all her relationship had, and this one relationship, above all she simply couldn't afford to lose. But as she looked around the cold dark room, she wished she had told him anyway.


	10. Things becoming clearer

Chapter 10: Things becoming clearer

Scotty settled back into work and tired his hardest not to think about her, but he was finding it difficult. He still couldn't shake the guilt that he hadn't found her, despite the numerous times everyone else told him to forgive himself, he just couldn't.

He went one night a week for dinner with her father, stepmother and stepbrother, as if being with them brought him closer to her. When he wasn't spending time with either his family or hers he stayed in his apartment, sitting on the couch with her cats, watching TV or flipping through his photo albums.

Before he even realised it, a month had gone by, he didn't understand how the world could just keep going as if nothing had happened, how the others could go to Jones' after every case or work on other cases. Every time he was in the squad room, he kept glancing over at the box, sitting on the shelves in the corner

Rush, L H 11-023 the words on that box still haunting him that he hadn't solved her case.

Lilly was starting to accept she'd never be found, at least not alive. She hoped that Scotty would find someone else, someone that would be perfect for him. So he could settle down, have kids, grow old with the woman he loved and be happy for once in his adult life. After trying time and time again to get anymore information from her captor she'd finally given up and didn't even talk when he made his snide comments through the door.

To make matters worse she had started get sick, she had nearly constant nausea, stomach pains. She put it down to not getting enough food. She was being fed only small amounts of bread and water a day, just enough to keep her alive but not enough to keep her sated. She just wished that he hurry up and end here suffering.

Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Scotty. Holding her, pressing kisses to her forehead and telling her that everything would be alright. So vivid were these dreams, she'd wake up with his name on her lips, and when the realisation hit her she'd cry again. All she wanted before she let go completely was to see his face just one more time, to get the chance to tell him that she loved him, more than she had or will ever love anyone.

One cold December morning, Scotty entered the department and was called into Stillman's office. Thinking he was in trouble again for the way he'd acted towards a suspect on their last case (In Scotty's opinion the bastard had it coming, he'd killed his wife and just laughed in their faces as he confessed. Who wouldn't have punched the ever loving daylights out of him) he trudged into office and sat down.

Stillman was staring out the window as Scotty entered and he tried to smile at his loose-cannon of a detective. "Scotty, I need to tell you something. You may not like it, this is why I am telling you alone and not out there" Stillman said with a jerk of his head towards the Bull pen.

"Okay" Scotty replied simply

"The commissioner wishes to..fill the vacant position in the squad" He half expected Scotty to blow up but to his amazement Scotty merely nodded. "You're not upset?" Stillman asked cautiously

"Of course I am but I have come to accept that she ain't coming back Boss and as much as it hurts, I understand that we gotta move on" he said sadly "So who's coming in?" he asked

"Anna Mayes" he replied and a small smile broke out on his face.

"Good for her, when dose she start?"

"Today, I was told early this morning" Scotty nodded again "She will need a desk, and I know that we haven't cleaned out Lil's desk but..."

"I'll do it Boss" Scotty cut across him "I am having dinner with her family tonight I'll give them her things" Stillman nodded and Scotty left the office.

Scotty walked out towards her desk, his hands hesitating before he finally touched her chair. He pulled it out and sank into it and proceeded to open her drawers. He started to sort through personal items of hers and those other items and case noted that would have to remain in the department. Absently packing her things in a box he finally came across a photo of them together, it must have been taken years ago. It was the first Thursdays that she had first taken Kite to, he had his arms around Elisa who was smiling up at the camera. His heart sank in his chest when he realised that back then, he never imagined that in just six years he would of lost the too loves of his life. First was Elisa, he had loved her since he was fourteen, still did but as he had realised his feelings for Lil, his love for Elisa seemed to pale in comparison. He stroked his fingers over her photo, wishing he could touch the really Lilly just one more time.

A little after ten that morning Anna walked into the department and smiled across at him "Hi Scotty" she said, she was wearing the same sympathetic smile that she wore when he'd gone to pick up Elisa's things. "Hey Anna, congratulations I guess" he offered his hand and she shook it.

"You gotta know that I don't enjoy coming into the squad this way, I am sorry about Lil"

Scotty nodded "I know, thanks. But you'll make a great addition to the team "

"Thanks" Anna turned around and walked over to Stillman's office.

Scotty continued to pack up Lilly's desk, notes she had written, her favourite mug a stack of letters. Everything brought back memories for him and cleared his throat, trying to dislodge the growing lump.

At five that night Scotty bid goodbye to the other and with the box under his arm, he left the department. He arrived back at home and sat down on his couch, he had enough time to look through Lil's stuff before he left to have dinner with the coopers. He picked up the stack of letters and removed the rubber band. Who would be writing Lil letters he thought, maybe they were from Paul, he mentioned he wrote her some letters when he invited him and Lilly over for dinner for a few months back. Scotty pulled out the first one and opened it; it contained only one word in bold capitol letters.

**BITCH**

Definitely not from Paul. As he pulled out the rest of the letters and read them one by one, he started to get angry. How could she have kept these from him, the first one was dated two years ago and she seemed to have gotten on every month. The last one was a bit more specific in its threats

**I have been watching you detective, you and that partner of yours. I will make you two pay for what you did. I will kill you first and make him watch, and then I will kill him nice and slow so he can suffer like he made me suffer.**

**Until we see each other in person **

Scotty picked up the rest of the letters and threw them in a plastic snap lock bag before he picked up his phone and called the one person he knew could help him.

Louie walked up towards the department, seeing Scotty huddled under the awning. "What's this about Scotty? I was having dinner with Anna's parents" he paused then smile "Actually you've done me a favour" Scotty chuckled and they walked back inside the foyer "So what can I do for you Scotty?"

"I found these in Lil's drawer" Scotty said and he handed him the packet of letters "Was wondering if you can get anythin off em" he said

"What are they?" he asked as they stepped into the elevator and hit the button for the evidence labs floor. "Letters, I looked over em; I think it might have somethin to do with Lil's disappearance"

They walked out of the elevator towards Louie's desk and he pulled out gloves and pulled out one of the letters. "Good quality paper for prints, I can see if I can pull any besides yours and Lil's" he said as he took it over to a plastic tent next to the Bunsen burner "Superglue fumes, helps lift prints" He said to Scotty and he nodded. As one of the letter soaked in the fumes Louie went over a few more. "What's this stain?" Louie asked, pointing to a faint brown smudge on the corner of the last one.

"Don't know"

"I'll run it through the mass spec, see what I can get"

"Let me know okay" Scotty pleaded, handing him a card "Just call me first"

Louie nodded and returned to working on the letters.

He decided he wasn't going to share this information with the others; he wanted to make sure this would give them a lead.

The next day later Louie called him, telling him that he had a lead and Scotty hurried down to the labs to talk to him.

"What do you got?" he asked

"I lifted a fingerprint off the letter that wasn't your or Lil's" Louie said

"And?" Scotty asked hurriedly

"It's a match for the print we took off Lil's door"

Scotty grinned "Great" Scotty replied

"There's something else, the stain is marine grade oil" Louie said showing him the report, Scotty looked a little confused and ran a hand over his face "So what's it mean?" Scotty asked

"Well this particular oil has a tracer in it, used only by on company down at the docks; I'd check the employment records for the Golben shipping company"

Scotty patted him on the back and hurried out of the lab and back to the Bullpen.

After begging out on the interviews with Vera and Nick, saying that he had to catch up on paperwork, he called Golben shipping company and they faxed over their list of welders. As Scotty scanned over the list of names one stood out above the rest, it couldn't be...could it. How many people in Philly would have that last name? He was going to have to see Frannie, needed to check an autopsy report, to see a list of family members. He left the paper on his desk and hurried down stairs, saying that name over and over to himself like a song he couldn't get out of his head. Luke Marteson.


	11. Things click into place

Chapter 11: Things click into place

Lilly could feel herself getting weaker and weaker, she could only now manage to just sit up. She was too weak to stand or even crawl over to the door now. She was tired all the time, feeling like she just could let go and sleep. Her captor had to throw her food at her but she simply couldn't summon the energy to eat anymore.

On one of his few trips to visit her, the faceless man seemed finally happy. "It seems as though your boyfriend found his brains. He should be here any day now to rescue you, or say goodbye at least. But if he doesn't hurry up I guess he will be too late"

Lilly raised her head off the floor, had she heard right, was Scotty coming to see her. That piece if information was enough to make her hold on a little bit longer.

* * *

Scotty ran into Frannie's office and demanded to see Ed Martesen's autopsy report, he needed to know who his body was released to, it couldn't be this simple could it. Frannie dug out the report and handed it to him, skimming it, he began to get excited. There was just one name under next of kin.

Brother: L. Martesen

Scotty felt as though he could have jumped for joy, it was all falling into place. Luke must have kidnapped Lil to get back at her for what happened to his brother Ed. But that didn't make sense, it was him who took the shot and killed Ed, not that he wouldn't have done anything different if given the chance. That settles it though, Scotty was gonna track this son of a bitch down and make him pay for what he did to Lil.

He made his way up to the Bullpen and entered Luke's name in the auto track. He didn't have a record, not so much as a parking ticket. He did however find an address for him. Stillman poked his head out of his office "You going somewhere Scotty?" he asked

"Yeah, I need to take some lost hours" he said as he backed up towards the elevator "Ma needs help with...something" he finished lamely and hurried off into the waiting elevator. Stillman furrowed his brow and stared after Scotty, something was definitely up with him. He returned to his desk and sat down, if it were something serious, Scotty would have said something. With a shrug and a long sigh, Stillman returned his attention to his paperwork.

Scotty arrived at the small apartment building and got out of the car; he hurried up the stairs and pounded on the door. "Open up Martesen" he yelled.

"He's not here" a voice said behind him

Scotty turned around and faced the small woman, peaking out of the door opposite "Do you know where he his?" Scotty asked

"He went to work, down at the docks" she said

"Thanks ma'am" Scotty replied and hurried down the stairs and back to the car.

He sped over to the docks; he wanted to get his hands on the little bastard. Maybe rough him up a bit, or a lot. As he pulled into the parking lot and flashed his badge to the security guard, Scotty asked where he could find Luke. The guard looked at his work sheet and told him that Luke was working down at the last warehouse on the left.

Luke sat in the dark, watching Scotty drive towards him and cackled "Won't be long now" he whispered through the door to Lilly "Your boyfriend will be here soon and then I will show him the meaning of loss"

Scotty parked the car and stepped out, unclipping the holster of his gun and drawing it out as he reached for his flashlight. He took a deep breath and walked forward into the dark warehouse. "Anybody here?" he called out.

Scotty heard a soft groaning coming from behind him and whipped around and stared at the door "Hello?" he called out again and approached the door

"Sco..tty" a weak sounding voice sounded behind the door.

"Lil?" he called back and he pulled open the hatch and shone his light through. His heart leapt into his throat and his breath was coming in short rasps as he saw his dishevelled appearance "Lil, are you okay?" he called

"Help" she managed to cry out.

He tried the lock but couldn't open the door "Keep back" he called and he aimed his gun at the lock and fired, the loud bang revibrated around the room and the lock fell to the floor. Scotty lowered his gun, kicked the door open and ran into the room and hurried over to her, putting his gun and flashlight beside her. He rolled her over and ran his hands over her body, checking she didn't have any injuries, gasping when he saw the cuts on her arms

"Are you alright?" he asked her softly.

"I think so, I am just so tired" she whispered, he knew that she was fading fast; he had to get her out of here.

"Can you walk?" Scotty asked quietly

"I can't get up" her eyes closed again and he could tell if he didn't get her to a hospital soon...

"I gonna pick you up, okay?" Lilly nodded and Scotty made to holster his gun.

"Not so fast detective" Luke voice called from behind him and Scotty turned around to see a gun levelled at him. "Get up!" Luke ordered

Scotty slowly got to his feet and raised his hands "Put the gun down Luke" Scotty said

"Since I am the one with the gun, I think I will give the orders" he breathed menacingly

Scotty's mind was racing, trying to think back to his academy training. Negotiate he thought, yeah right, like I am gonna negotiate with the piece of scum that kidnapped my girlfriend. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way" Scotty said, keeping his anger under control.

Luke merely laughed and wrapped his hands tighter around his gun "I'd keep quite if I was you, or I might end your girlfriends suffering early." He jerked his gun towards Lilly and Scotty instinctively put himself between Luke and Lilly.

"If you are gonna shoot anyone, shoot me" Scotty replied

"I was planning too after I made you watch her die" Luke said icily

Just keep him talking his brain told him gently "Well since your gonna kill us, tell me how you made it looked like she was dead?" Scotty asked.

He cackled menacingly "Oh that, I think that was a stroke of genius on my part" he said patting himself on the back "I used to work at the hospital, detective rush here used to donate blood every month" he said softly "When my brother was shot, I wanted revenge so I got transferred to the blood bank. I was put in charge of the registry; we kept track of the donations in case there was a problem with the donator's blood." He said "I simply stole Detective Rush's blood for myself, than about two months ago the stupid hospital fired me. I had to take a job here which turned out great because it gave me a place to hide the bitch" Scotty gritted his teeth at the comment but kept quite. "Then I simply followed you two around for a few weeks until an opportunity presented itself to me and as luck would have it, a month ago you finally let her out of your sight." Regret seeped into every cell in his body; he knew it was his fault that she was kidnapped. "I broke in and waited till she got back, knocked her out then sprayed the blood around the room before I dragged her away." He paused and smiled "I waited until you put all the pieces together, I knew once you found all the letters I sent her, I knew even you wouldn't take that long to figure it out" Luke grinned again "So now that I have told you, I guess I am going to have to kill you now"

Scotty felt his heart pounding hard against his ribs and he swallowed hard "Don't shoot her, I am the one that killed Ed, she didn't" Scotty protested

"Well, she tricked him into that room, she got you to shoot him, and I am going to kill you both." He raised his gun again and turned it on Scotty.

This was not the way he'd thought he'd go, he figure that he and Lil would get married and have kids and then when they were old and gray, he'd die right beside her. Now he was going to get shot by this maniac before he even had a chance to tell her how he felt about her. "You know I have changed my mind, I am going to shot you first now, than I will lock that bitch in here to die." Scotty wished now that the others knew where he was so they'd come bursting in here and shoot Luke before he'd pulled the trigger. Scotty watched as Luke cocked the gun and took another step towards Scotty "Say goodbye" he muttered, Scotty closed his eyes and waited for the shot.

BANG!

The loud crack of the gun was deafening and Scotty waited to feel the pain from the searing lead, waited for the blood to pour out of the wound...but nothing happened. Slowly he opened his eyes and was shocked...Luke lay dead on the floor. Scotty couldn't understand what happened, how could he be dead, who shot him. He heard a groan behind him and he turned to see Lilly, still holding his gun. She had managed to raise herself off the ground and pick up the discarded gun at his feet. Just as Luke was about to take his shot, Lilly had fired and got Luke before he had squeezed the trigger. Scotty quickly walked over to Luke, to make sure he was dead and kicked the gun away. Turning back around and he all but ran to her side.

"You saved my life" he whispered, kissing her forehead.

"Thought it was...about time...I repaid the...favour" she panted with the effort of raising the gun.

"I am going to get you outta here" Scotty replied and he took the gun from her, replacing it in his holster before he pulled her into his arms and stood up.

Lilly felt herself growing fainter and the warmth of Scotty's arms and the smell of his skin soothed her. "Scotty" she breathed

"Don't try and talk Lil, I am going to get you to the hospital. Your safe now, I've got you" She closed her eyes and finally let herself succumb to the exhaustion she was feeling and fell asleep.

Scotty had almost broken a land speed record, driving over to the hospital. He rushed Lilly into the emergency room, quickly explaining what happened to the nurse. Lilly was rush off to be connected to a drip and have tests run on her while Scotty filled out some paperwork. Scotty called Stillman and explained what had happened; he was angry to say the least and told Scotty that he was on desk duty until further notice. Stillman sent a team to recover Luke's body and then they came rushing to the hospital; they all waited in the waiting room, hoping the doctor would come in and tell them some good news.

After what seemed like ages, the doctor finally emerged "Are you with detective Rush?" he asked

"Yes" Scotty said jumping to his feet "I am her boyfriend"

The doctor nodded and walked over to him "She was very dehydrated and weak from hunger, we have hooked her up to a heart monitor and are giving her IV fluids, and she is resting now." He said calmly. Scotty breathed a sigh of relief and ran a hand through his hair "Can I go see her?" he asked "Please"

The doctor nodded "But one at a time, she needs her rest" The rest of the squad sat back down as Scotty followed the doctor "You said that detective Rush was your girlfriend?" he asked

"Yes she is, why?" he asked

"We discovered something while we were examining her" the doctor said

"Discovered what?" Scotty asked in a panicked voice.

"She was bleeding and we ran some tests, we discovered that detective Rush was pregnant but I am sorry to say, due to the stress on her body she has miscarried, I am sorry"

"Are you sure?" Scotty asked

"I am afraid so"

Scotty felt his heart plummeting into the depth of his stomach and he suddenly felt faint "Have you told her?" he asked

"She is still asleep, we haven't told her yet" The doctor said

"I want to tell her; it's our baby, I should tell her"

The doctor nodded again and opened her door. Scotty saw her tiny frame, peaking out the top of the blankets. Leads and wires running from her body to the machines above her head, IV fluids hanging beside her bed as well as blood transfusion that dripped at a fast rate into the canular. He took a seat beside her bed and reach out to take her hand. He sighed and pressed a kiss to the back of it "I am so sorry baby" he whispered.

A/n: I know the start of this chapter was crappy, but I wanted to get to Scotty saving Lilly. Please review.


	12. Finally found what I've been looking for

A/n: thanks to all of you who review and a special thanks to Nadia who took the trouble of translating my story into Portuguese, I'd like to say to her Eu realmente aprecio isso, espero que gostem deste capítulo

Chapter 12: Finally found what I've been looking for all along

Lilly's eyes slowly opened and she surveyed her surroundings, she thought last night was a dream. But it wasn't a dream, as she looked over to the chair beside her bed and saw him sound asleep and snoring lightly. She giggled softly as a nurse came in "Oh good your awake" she said "I am Hannah, I'll be one of you nurses" she walked over to the end of the bed and picked up the chart and began writing "How long have I been asleep?" Lilly whispered

"About three days" Hannah replied softly

"How long has he been sitting there?" Lilly asked again jerking her head in Scotty's direction

Hannah smiled and chuckled "About three days, said he didn't want to leave your side"

Lilly reached over and ran a hand through his hair; he groaned softly and raised his head off the bed "Lil?" he said sleepily

"Hey" Lilly replied, looking down at her boyfriend

Hannah replaced the chart on the end of the bed and excused herself and walked out of the room.

"Hey, how you feelin'?" Scotty asked quietly, shifting his chair closer to the bed.

"Tired, I guess" Lilly replied "My arms a little sore"

Scotty sighed and stared at her hand in his "I gotta tell you something" he said sadly

"What?" Lilly asked cautiously.

"The doctors ran some test..." Scotty began "They found out something"

"Found out what?" Lilly asked, starting to feel slightly panicked.

"I am really sorry Honey; they said that you...were pregnant"

"Were?" Lilly asked, feeling tears in her eyes

"I am real sorry baby, the doctor said that because of all the stress on your body you had a miscarriage" he said in a chocked voice. Lilly started to cry silently. "This is all my fault Lil" he said feeling his own tears falling down his cheeks

Lilly's breath hitched in her throat "This isn't your fault, Scotty"

"If I'd been there with you that night, I could have protected you" he said guiltily.

Lilly raised her head and pressed a kiss to his lips "You listen to me Scotty, this is not your fault" she murmured "You're the one who saved me, if you hadn't come when you did..."

Scotty smiled down at her and pressed a kiss to her forehead "I love you Lil,so much" Scotty said "I know that I can't imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone but you" Lilly pulled him down for another kiss "I love you too Scotty" she whispered against her lips.

* * *

Stillman walked down the hall to her room, laden with flowers and chocolates from the rest of the squad. He knocked on her door and walked in. She was sitting in bed reading and smiled at him as he crossed the short distance to her bed. "Hey Boss" Lilly said happily

Stillman leant down and kissed her cheek "I am so glad you are alright" He replied as he handed her the gifts. He looked around the room and couldn't help but notice something missing "Where's Scotty, I half expected him to be still guarding you like an attack dog" Stillman said as he sat down.

Lilly chuckled and smelt the flower in front of her "He was driving me nuts, had to tell him I was dying for a real coffee so he would give me a moment's peace"

Stillman grinned "he cares about you, you know"

"I know Boss, and I love him so much but he's just being so over protective" Lilly said "He almost punched out the doctor when he changed my canular and had to do it twice cause he missed the vein" Stillman chuckled heartily.

"I am glad that you too are happy, you take care of him okay?"

"Why aren't you telling him to take care of me?" Lilly questioned

Stillman smiled at her "Because I know you can take care of yourself, Scotty on the other hand" Stillman chuckled "That boy needs all the help he can get" Lilly giggled

Stillman sobered and sighed "Lil, I need you to forgive me" he said

"For what Boss?" Lilly asked curiously.

"I gave up on you, I thought you were dead" John hung his head in shame, the guilt he felt when he heard that she was still alive, that Scotty had found her on the brink of death.

"Boss, Scotty told me what happened, about my kitchen and all the blood" Lilly said "If I had been you, I would of thought I was dead too, I forgive you Boss"

Scotty walked into the room again carrying to large cups of coffee and a bag of pastries under his arm "Sorry Baby they didn't have..."he trailed off as he saw his Boss sitting by her bed "Bagels" he finished.

"I should be getting back to the office" Stillman said uncomfortably as he rose to his feet.

"That's okay Boss, you don't have to leave" Lilly said as she looked from her boyfriend to her Boss

"No, I should leave you two alone" Scotty shifted uncomfortably and he looked across at Lilly, she gave him a look that clearly indicated that he should say something before Stillman left. "Boss, I wanted to apologise. I should have told you where I was going, when I found about Luke, I shoulda called it in" Scotty said sheepishly. Stillman sighed and looked at his detective "Yes you should of Scotty, IAD wants your badge Scotty, but I have gotten them to agree to a month suspension"

Scotty's eyes widened in horror "A month! But Boss"

"Don't argue with me Scotty, you are taking a month as is Lil and she will need someone to take care of her" he suggested.

Upon hearing this news his mood lightened "Thanks Boss" he said.

"No problem Scotty, now I really should be gettin back" Stillman walked past Scotty and turned around, he watched Scotty walk over to her bed and put down her coffee beside her before kissing her briefly. The look in Lilly's eyes warmed his heart; she was looking up at Scotty with such adoration and love the like of which he had never seen from her before. He was happy that she had finally found someone who loved her like she deserved to be loved. He smiled again and walked back down the hall and towards the exit.

The doctor insisted that Lilly stay in hospital for the next few days. When she was finally discharged, Scotty took her back to his apartment and settled her on his couch. Tripod and Olivia seemed thrilled that their owner had returned and leapt up on her lap, purring happily. Lilly chuckled and hugged her two cats "I missed you" Lilly said pressing kisses to the cats head.

"They missed you" Scotty said as he sat beside her "Figured that I'd look after them while you were gone" Tripod rubbed her head against Scotty's leg and purred happily.

"Thanks Scotty" Lilly said and she leaned over and kissed him. Scotty ran his hand over her cheek and back through her hair, tugging her closer to him. She felt his tongue slid into her mouth and she pulled back "I am sorry Scotty" she whispered, staring down at her feet

"No it's okay Lil, I shouldn't be pushin you into anythin yet" Scotty replied and she sighed and slowly raised her head to meet his gaze "It's not that Scotty, I love you" She frowned and ran her hand over his cheek "But it's just...I lost a baby Scotty...your baby, and I just don't think that we should just jump back into this"

"Hey, listen to me Lil" Scotty whispered back "I love you more than I have ever loved anyone" Scotty turned his face slightly and kissed the palm of her hand that was still on his face "And we have the rest of our lives to have children together, so if you don't want to do anythin right now that's fine" Lilly felt the smile creep onto her face again, had he just said that he wanted to spend his life with her. "I think I am going to go to bed, can you just hold me for a while?" she asked. Scotty grinned and nodded, following her down the hall to his bedroom.

* * *

It had now been six months since Lilly had home from the hospital and she was back at work. Desk duty but still she was glad to be able to contribute having been away so long. Her and Scotty's relationship had grown in leaps and bounds, they had moved in together and Stillman had still allowed them to work together as long as they kept personal problems at home and Lilly was grateful. Stillman had also insisted that she go to counselling and as much as she protested it was Scotty who convinced her to finally go. She couldn't be more grateful to him and she also felt guilty, they also hadn't had sex since before she had been kidnapped, he was just so patient with her. It wasn't that she didn't want to sleep with him, she wanted to more than anything but she was afraid that if she got pregnant again, something would happen to this baby too.

At five o'clock one afternoon, Lilly stood up from her desk and grabbed her coat. "I've got an appointment with the shrink" she said comming over to Scotty's side of the desk "I'll see you at home later?" she asked softly.

"Sure Lil" he said and she felt the twinge of guilt again as she saw him quickly hid a small frown on his face. This was ridiculous; she knew that she couldn't keep on like this. Scotty had respected her boundaries and hadn't even suggested having sex with her since the night she'd come back from the hospital, but she didn't know how much longer his patience would last. The last few nights he'd either come home well after she'd gone to bed or had fallen asleep on the couch in front of the TV. She had to do something to show him that she was still in this relationship and that she still wanted to be with him. "Okay" she whispered as he returned his attention to file in front of him. The others exchanged a look at the obvious tension between them. Lilly took a deep breath and lent over kissing the top of Scotty's head "I love you" she whispered against his hair. If Scotty had heard her he didn't say anything and Lilly knew that she had to do something tonight or she could lose him.

Scotty came home a little after seven that night, he had had a few drinks with Vera and Jefferies and come home only after he knew Lilly would be in bed. He knew it was stupid, that he was acting like a child but he couldn't shake the feeling that Lilly was about to end their relationship. He sighed heavily and tossed his coat onto the couch, waking up Olivia and Tripod. The cats glowered at him for disturbing their sleep. He was about to grab something to eat when he heard something coming from the bedroom, it was music. Frowning slightly, Scotty walked down the hallway and pushed open the door. His jaw hit the floor and his eyes widened, the room was dimly lit by the light of candles. Rose petals were scattered about the room and the stereo was playing softly in the background. He took a step into the room, still not daring to believe it "Like it?" a soft voice asked from behind him and Scotty whipped around to find Lilly, leaning against the doorframe of their adjoining bathroom.

Scotty's eyes travelled over her slim figure and he swallowed hard. She was dressed in a dark red negligee that stopped just below her knees and was low cut enough for her breasts to be just visible. "Wow" Scotty breathed, his eyes still fixed on her. Lilly giggled at his startled expression and sauntered towards him. "I went shopping after work" Lilly said "Rescheduled my appointment, figured I had much more important things to do this evening." Lilly's hands slid up his chest and slowly started to unbutton his shirt. "Lil, are you sure you want to do this?" he asked "I don't want to push you" he said although he would love to be able to feel his hands on her again.

"It's been to long Scotty, you have been so patient with me and it's made me love you even more that I thought possible" Lilly said, her movements stilled as she spoke "But I am ready and I want us to make love again" She said. Scotty lowered his head slowly and captured her lips with his. Kissing her slowly and sensually as they walked backwards to the bed. Lilly broke the kiss and for a heart stopping minute, Scotty thought she was going to push him away again. "I love you" she simply said. Scotty grinned at her

"I love you too Lil" he said and he kissed her again. They made love all night long.

A/n: alright just a short chapter up next for the last one. As always please leave a review.


	13. Making me whole again

A/n: this is the last chapter. Set a few months after last chapter

Chapter 13: Making me whole again

"Lil, come on we are gonna be late" Scotty called from the living room "Ma's expecting us at eight" he slipped into his coat and grabbed his keys from the table by the door. Lilly sighed and walked out of the bathroom. "Sorry, still can't shake this stomach flu" Lilly replied as she walked over to Scotty and took her coat out of his hands "You still not feeling good?" he asked running a hand over her forehead. "I feel so rundown all the time" Lilly said as she picked up her handbag. "Well maybe we should just stay home, I could call Ma." Scotty suggested.

"No, your Mom's expecting us, I will be ok" Lilly said and she took a deep breath and walked out of the door. "So why are we meeting at Mike's place?" Lilly asked as they walked to the car.

"Ma's having the townhouse fumigated and she and Dad are stayin with Allie and Mike" Scotty said and he opened the car door for her. Lilly slipped inside and did up her seatbelt, fighting off another wave of nausea. She got a glimpse of herself in the rear vision mirror and groaned. She poked the bags under her eyes and dug into her purse for more foundation to cover it up. "Are you really sure 'bout this baby, cause we can stay home if you're not feelin well" Lilly smiled weakly at him and shook her head "It will be okay Scotty" Lilly said and Scotty grinned, leaning over to press a quick kiss to her cheek.

* * *

They arrived a few minutes later at Mike and Allie's townhouse and walked up the steps. Scotty looked over at Lilly with concern, she hadn't been well for the last couple of days but she still refused to do anything different. Much to his annoyance she was still going to work and she didn't want to go see a doctor either. Allie opened the door and smiled "Hey guys, come on in" She stood back and let them in. Scotty kissed Allie on the cheek as they walked in "Sorry we're late" Scotty said "Lil wasn't feelin too good"

"Oh that's not good, you okay Lil?" Allie asked

"Yeah I am okay, just a stomach bug"

Allie's brow furrowed in sympathy "Come on, I'll get you some ginger tea" she said and she and Lilly walked into the kitchen.

Scotty walked into the living room, finding his brother and father watching a football game. He settled himself beside his father and turned his attention to the screen.

Meanwhile Lilly was sitting in the kitchen with Scotty's mother and Allie "Are you sure your okay Lil? You don't look good" Allie said as she handed Lilly a tea. "I think so; I've had this stomach bug for a few days now"

"Maybe your pregnant" Allie said, smiling up at Maria

Lilly shook her head "No, I don't think so" Lilly stopped for a few minutes, making mental calculations "Crap" she muttered.

Allie smiled "Come on Lil we are going to buy you a pregnancy test" Allie said grabbing her keys and ushering Lilly out of the kitchen.

Scotty looked up as he saw his girlfriend and Allie leaving "You okay Lil?" he asked. Lilly nodded and walked over to kiss his cheek "I am just going to get something for this nausea" she said softly. He nodded although he still looked concerned.

Half an hour later she and Allie were walking back into the house, Allie showed Lilly back towards their bathroom so she could have some privacy. "Did you want me to get Scotty?" Allie asked. Lilly nodded "Give me a minute before you send him in" Allie closed the door. Lilly took a deep breath before removing the test out of the packaging and reading the instructions.

"Lil wants you" Allie said as she walked back into the living room "She's in our bathroom" Scotty got up quickly and hurried down the hallway. "What's all that about?" Mike asked his wife.

"None of your business" Allie replied simply, exchanging smiles with Maria

Scotty knocked on the bathroom door "You okay Hun?" he asked

"Can you come in?" she asked. The door opened slowly and Scotty scanned the room and found Lilly, sitting against the bathtub. "Are you okay?" he asked her. Lilly didn't reply, instead she pointed to the bathroom sink. Scotty looked over and his eyes widened in amazement "Is that a pregnancy test?" he asked. Lilly nodded and breathed in shakily "Wow" Scotty said as he sat down beside her "You think your pregnant?" Lilly nodded again.

"It's a possibility, I am late and I am feeling tired and sick" Scotty took her hand in his and pressed a kiss to the back of it. "I love you" he said and Lilly smiled at him "So how long till we find out?" he asked.

"Test takes a few minutes" Lilly replied

"If you are pregnant" Scotty began "I think it would be great" Lilly could tell he was starting to get excited, she knew how much he wanted to have children. He was devastated when they lost their first baby and now it seemed that she was pregnant again. The timer went off and they both turned towards the sink, Lilly slowly stood up and walked towards it. She took a deep breath and turned it over. "Oh my god" she said under her breath, she slowly turned to face Scotty "I guess we're pregnant" Lilly said holding up the test for him to see. Scotty jumped up crying out in happiness, sweeping Lilly up in his arms and twirling her around. "I am gonna be a daddy?" he asked as he lowered her down to the ground. Lilly nodded and leant forward to kiss him "Your gonna be a daddy Valens" Scotty grabbed her hand and dragged her back to the living room and over to his family "Lil's pregnant" he announced happily. Maria, Ramiro, Mike and Allie all rushed to congratulate the happy couple.

When they finally got home and fell into bed together, Scotty pulled her close to him, placing a hand on her stomach. He leant forward and pressed a kiss to her abdomen; Lilly smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. "I love you so much Scotty" Lilly said. Scotty lifted his head of her stomach and moved over her "I love you too Lil" he replied. He kissed her deeply, relishing the soft moans she made as he deepened to kiss. He pulled away and stared down at her, running his hand over her cheek, brushing a lock of hair away from her face. "You have givin me everything I have ever wanted Lil" he said "You and now a baby. I can't imagine livin my life without you" Scotty reached over to his side of the bed and opened the drawer and took out something. Lilly looked up at him in confusion as he moved back to look her in the eyes again. "Will you marry me Lil?" he asked. He opened the box and revealed a diamond ring, it wasn't overly fancy, just a simple white gold band with several diamonds across its surface, but it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. She smirked and raised her hand to brush against his cheek "You didn't ask me to marry me, cause you knock me up did you?" she said teasingly. Scotty's eyes widened in horror

"No Lil, I swear I was gonna..." he trailed off as saw her laughing

"I am joking Scotty" Lilly moved up to press her lips to his "Of course I will marry you" He slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her deeply.

"I love you both" Scotty said softly, his hand gently caressing her stomach. Lilly chuckled and put her hand on top of his "We love you too" Scotty lowered himself down beside her and draped his arms around her, pulling her against his body and sighed deeply. "I am lookin forward to doing this for the rest of my life" Scotty said as his eyes slid closed. Lilly smiled and curled up against him and ran her hands against his arms. Her eyes slid closed too and let the rhythmic thumping of Scotty's heart lull her into a deep sleep.

The End


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